Gear slipping on E88MSLES?

[focalf5]

Did some searching but couldnt come up with a definitive answer. I have a 90 model 88hp evinrude, model number E88MSLES. Took it out for the third time this past weekend and when riding at 3/4 to full throttle, sometimes it will jerk the boat and it sounds and feels like one of the gears might be missing a tooth or something along those lines but it only does it every once in a while but seems to be getting worse. It only does it for a split second and then keeps on pulling just as good as it ever has. I am not going to run the boat again until I figure it out. Could it be as easy as changing the gear oil or could there be more damage? I am going to change the oil one day this week to check for metal and water.

[patches]

i would try another prop if you could get your hands on one. the hub may be spinning on yours

[ELGIN]

Sounds like you may need to replace the forward gear and clutch dog, this may have been caused by a miss adjusted shift cable over a long period of time.

[gearcaseman]

Elgin is right on! This is from the clutch dog and /or forward gear beginning to round off at the edges of the contact points creating your slippage. It will slip out of gear and instantly jump back in. This will get worse with time. It needs to be addressed A.S.A.P.

[Bassmeister]

And the GearcaseMan is tha GURU!!! And close enough to go visit!!

[ChampioNman]

When was the last time you had a cup o joe with Mr. Pope?

[focalf5]

Thanks a lot fellas for the help. I called around today and the prices were similar from different shops but the one I am going to go with quoted me $570 which includes clutch dog/forward gear, reverse gear, gear oil gasket set and labor. Labor is $225 and parts is the rest. Sound alright?

[gearcaseman]

This sounds pretty decent, be sure to have them check your propshaft for being bent while it's out.

[ELGIN]

I would suggest you give the gearcaseman a call or email, his post is right above mine.

[focalf5]

Well, I had the shift cable adjusted yesterday. We took the boat out last night for several hours and it did not jump out of gear one time and it was doing it every minute or 2 the other day. I dont know if I dodged a bullet this time but its possible. I am going to go ahead and change the gear oil this week just to go ahead and get that out of the way. I may have to have some cables, the tech said there seemed to be a little play in them for some reason. As of now all is well, I can only hope it stays that way. I will definitely contact gearcaseman if the problem persists. Thanks.

[gearcaseman]

You definitely dodged a bullet on this one, maybe you should buy some lottery tickets this week!

[focalf5]

Yeah, I sure hope so. I change the gear oil this afternoon. The oil was black and needed to be changed badly and there was no water in it and seemed to be no large chunks of metal just a few shavings on the bottom plug magnet. Hopefully she will keep on running good.