I cant get the reverse ram to spin the lower unit on my motor.

The ram will cycle in and out when disconnected from the reverse gearing bracket. When connected it seems like it is in a bind and nothing moves.

Any tips or ideas?


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More than likely need grease. Mine did that in the beginning of duck season. Grease the whole motor and get someone to push the switch and just give the LU a pull at the same time. It worked for me.


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Also, look at your washer stack where the ram attaches to the half moon gear.make sure there's nothing binding right there. Don't know how, but, it will prevent it from moving.

Grease the internal bushing by removing the hex head plug and don't forget about the one under the tower base plate.

Thanks guys, I'll try greasing it up real good and seeing if I can get it to move manually.


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First question is can you spin the lower unit by hand when the ram is disconnected?

If so, the reverse gear can bind itself easily if the bolt where the ram bolts to the gear is loose. It needs to remain snug but not so tight that it can't pivot so it doesn't let the thing get out of alignment. The best thing is to take the lock nut off and put two nuts to use one as a jamb. The brass washers act like alignment bushings, they need to go back the same way for it to work right.

I tried greasing everything and disconecting the ram. I cant get it to move by hand by kicking or even hitting the lower unit with a mallet. Its stuck like chuck.


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That happened to mine a long time ago, before I knew there was a grease fitting under the cover (and before it was in the manual). I had to get a new reverse plate. I've heard of people using something like a come-along attached to a tree to break it free, but I don't know what kind of damage you could do trying that. Do you run a lot of saltwater?

One possible option is to see if your motor is covered by the reverse recall. Then Prodrive or an authorized dealer would probably take care of it for you, depending on how rusted everything was in there.

Previous owner ran a lot of saltwater. Yea im tempted to try break it free with something a little more powerful.


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Do what you want, but this is me. If he did indeed ran a lot of salt water, take it apart. Pull the block and drop the lower unit. That way you can insure that everything is ok before you damage something trying to break it free. You can then grease and clean everything. If the spline shaft is rusted, you can then clean it and put it back together.

reason I mention this is because PD lower unit seals are known to go out and allow water intrusion into the lower unit as well as the tower. I have had oil and grease come out under my clutch from this. That means that salt water is standing within the tower bushing, and could corrode bolts and all kinds of shit. A little extra work will insure that everything is good to go.