Difficulty getting engine to engage gear

[davetatem]

I've got a boat with an old 1.5 BMC engine which (according to the survey) has a Hurth gearbox. It runs basically pretty well but just recently I find that it takes several goes before it engages forward (reverse seems o.k. most of the time but then I go forwards more than backwards!). Revving it sometimes helps but then it will often slip into gear at very low revs. It's basically unpredictable. Does anyone have any ideas? I'm not sure where the top up or oil level check is which I guess may be one easy solution so whatever advice is out there will be much appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Dave

[Keeping Up]

Sounds like the same symptoms as Bones had with hers (I can't remember what the solution was though)

[Bones]

I've got a boat with an old 1.5 BMC engine which (according to the survey) has a Hurth gearbox. It runs basically pretty well but just recently I find that it takes several goes before it engages forward (reverse seems o.k. most of the time but then I go forwards more than backwards!). Revving it sometimes helps but then it will often slip into gear at very low revs. It's basically unpredictable. Does anyone have any ideas? I'm not sure where the top up or oil level check is which I guess may be one easy solution so whatever advice is out there will be much appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Dave

same as me. Kept doing that until eventually it wouldn't engage gear. I had to replace it - cheaper than fixing it, and quicker than doing it myself (I was leaving the area within days). I picked up a reconditioned one - they had it on the shelf, posted it same day, got it the next. Its easy to bolt on, and when you know it works you send the old one back via courier and all done and dusted. Wish I could remember the price - 150 I think.

[David Schweizer]

I have never liked the Hurth Gearbox, I have seen too many of them being stripped down on the towpath, they are tiddly and cheap. In have a a massive PRM D260 in my boat, done over 20,000 hours in 27 years and when it was stripped down as part of the engine re-build last year it was still perfect inside. But at over a Grand new, they are not cheap.

[tosher]

Had this once on a sea going yacht, Perkins engine/Hurth gearbox. Afraid nothing but a recon gearbox cured the problem. Incidentaly it was caused by who ever fitted the gearbox fitted the linkages the wrong way round, so when the gear lever was pushed forward the boat went backwards. and pulling the lever backwards the boat went forwards. The cleaver dock yard maties overcame this problem by simply changing the pitch of the max prop from right handed to left handed which cured the direction problem but of course meant the gearbox spent most of it's life working in reverse gear. It worked like this for 15 years before the gearbox finally died. The cause was diagnosed by a very knowledgable Perkins engineer who fitted the replacement gearbox and out of interest I asked him what the reverse gear time rating was on a Hurth mechanical gearbox and he replied ---- 30 MINUTES !!!! tosher.

[davetatem]

Thanks to all for the replies so far. Sounds like a new gearbox on the way alas.

[DHutch]

Had this once on a sea going yacht, Perkins engine/Hurth gearbox. Afraid nothing but a recon gearbox cured the problem. Incidentaly it was caused by who ever fitted the gearbox fitted the linkages the wrong way round, so when the gear lever was pushed forward the boat went backwards. and pulling the lever backwards the boat went forwards. The cleaver dock yard maties overcame this problem by simply changing the pitch of the max prop from right handed to left handed which cured the direction problem but of course meant the gearbox spent most of it's life working in reverse gear. It worked like this for 15 years before the gearbox finally died. The cause was diagnosed by a very knowledgable Perkins engineer who fitted the replacement gearbox and out of interest I asked him what the reverse gear time rating was on a Hurth mechanical gearbox and he replied ---- 30 MINUTES !!!! tosher.

Yeah, its not the first time thats been the cause of a killed gearbox either.