OMC Cobra Lower stern unit shifting problem

"I have a 93 four winns w/ 5.8

"I have a 93 four winns w/ 5.8L and the sterndrive that says cobra on the side of it. I'm having a shifting problem with it and tracked it down to the lower unit so far. I've removed the sterndrive and split the upper and lower unit & I've taken the double bearing housing off and tried to shift it that way. I can shift it but, its hard to shift in reverse and a little easier to shift in the forward gear. I was wondering if anyone has run across this problem before and might of seen what parts wear out in the housing and bearing assy or do I need to just replace the whole thing. the gears inside look good and the only other thing I could think of is it might really be specific on the type of sterndrive fluid. like specifically OMC fluid only? any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks in advance for the help."

"You may not have trouble in t

"You may not have trouble in the lower unit, but the cable from the transom to the engine!Even if it works 'unloaded' it may be a problem at sea."

"no, I've replaced the shi

"no, I've replaced the shifting cable with no good results. well it does shift great with no sterndrive but that doesn't help me much. so I feel its in the lower unit."

"There is no general shifting

"There is no general shifting problem with the lower gercases, they are in fact a modified outboard gear case. If You see no clear evidence of wear, it should not be a problem. The only one might be the shift rod bushing.
When you shiftet the shift cable engine-transom did you shift/notice if the bearing for the small cranck in the transom had a grease fitting? (if so you may see it on the outside on stb side), if not - have it changed!
What about the cable from remote controle to the engine?
As for oil I always used the HPF oil from OMC/Bombardier."

It just seems like there's

It just seems like there's a little play in the shifting lever in nuetral but seems to hang up when you try and engage it into reverse. I don't notice the problem or it engages more smoothly in fwd gear and thats when the reverse gear is removed and the fwd gear is aligned with the dog teeth. is that shift rod bushing in the lower end? Thanks for your Help.

"The shift rod is the one goin

"The shift rod is the one going down in front of the housing with a 'brass' connector at the top that hooks into the crank in the transom bracket. NB:If you unscrew it, first take a measurement to the top of the gearcase from the top of the connector whenin neutral!!!!!!Be sure You get it back to the same hight!!!!!
What you may 'feel hang'is the spring loaded ball in the front shift housing. It marks out the neutral position. When shifting from neutral You will have to overcom the spring tension. To get that inspected You will have to remove the pinion and driveshaft. Push down the shift rod before unscrewing it.Use the pop shaft as a 'pull hammer and pull it all out complete. Watch out for loose rollers from the driveshaft bearing. I recommend to get a manual first!"

"Did you use the special tool

"Did you use the special tool to properly set your new shifter cable length to the right position in fwd? It sets the pin on the transom part of the drive to align at the correct height with the brass fork on the outdrive. If this isn't 100% correct from the beginning, you'll never get it to work right. Also, is your shift interrupter working correctly? Does the engine "misfire" as you move into gear, fwd or rev, or when you manually trigger the reed switch on the shifter plate (where the fwd and rear cable work the "see-saw" on the engine)"