Reverse Gear question

[Sparky]

Can all reverse gears turn either direction? Could I change my wheel from from RH to LH and replumb my ZF gear to accomodate the LH wheel? I've heard that Twindiscs can run either direction, but I wanted to know if that were true for all gear types and where I might find out if my gear could run the other way without doing harm.

 

[El Mar]

All? I don't think so. I know some cam be "indexed" to run either but not sure about reversing the plumbing, I would say no.

 

[Sparky]

ahh indexed is the term...I'll call around to see if my gear could be indexed to run the other direction

 

[MDI45]

direction

Sparky, you can use a left or right hand wheel on a twin disc or ZF gear.....just switch your shifter cables around

 

[tunafishhkg]

Most of the newer gears(20yrs or so), can run in both directions but the forward clutch pack only turns one gear unlike the reverse that needs to route thru another gear to reverse rotation so its a little less noisy. Not much though but there and like MDI45 said, just switch side on shifter cable. There is small ratio diff in reverse so on twin screw boats for those who really want a fine tuned syst, props are slightly diff from port to starboard since they counter rotate on twin screws.

 

[jojobee]

Most of the bi rotational gears are listed as A or B position. No one likes to think they are running a transmission in reverse at 3000 rpm's or higher. Some of the newer gears have the identical reduction in both A and B position.

 

[Sparky]

This might seem elementary, but that was my concern jojo, tuna, and MDI, steaming the boat for hours in 'reverse' and damaging the gear if I didn't complete any other changes that might need to be made. The boat was finished left hand, but I built an outside control station on the starboard side for docking and fish fighting and I don't like how the RH wheel acts at dock. It's a ZF irn301a.2 from the late 90's

 

[jojobee]

the current ZF irm301a is a bi-rotational gear. Call Adam at 908-964-0700x258 He can tell you about your specific year