b96 Johnson tiller drive stuck in forwardHELP

" Hey guys, I'm new here.

" Hey guys, I'm new here. I've got a '96 Johnson 40 tiller drive, pull start. It is stuck in forward. I can move the selector forward and backward, still stuck in forward. No grinding, no change in pitch. The linkage is fine all the way to the flywheel, and I haven't messed with it past there. Anybody every seen that?

Thanks-

Frank "

"Frank.... If indeed the linka

"Frank.... If indeed the linkage is as it should be at the powerhead (nothing's loose, slipping, whatever) I would suspect that someone has mistakenly removed the "philips" screw that is located on the right (starboard) side of your lower unit, near the front portion. That philips screw is a shoulder type bolt and is a pivot point for the internal shift lever. Removing it would allow the shift lever to drop away, resulting in a engine stuck in gear.

Joe "

" Joe, was hoping to hear from

" Joe, was hoping to hear from you. I checked, and don't see and loose or missing screws in the lower unit. Any other guesses?

Thanks

Frank "

"Frank.... The shift rod that

"Frank.... The shift rod that leads down to the lower unit... check to see if it moves up and down when you move the shift lever. If it does, you have a lower unit problem. If it doesn't, something is not right with the linkage at the powerhead.

Joe"

Do I need to remove the flywh

Do I need to remove the flywheel or take the cover off the lower unit to check this? (This is my first outboard motor).

thanks-

Frank

"Frank.... It puzzled me why y

"Frank.... It puzzled me why you said in your original message that the linkage (shifting) was okay all the way to the flywheel, and now you have mentioned the flywheel again. I suspect that you are mistaking the throttle linkage for the shift linkage possibly? The throttle linkage does extend up under the flywheel to the timer base so that there is control of the timer base (spark advance), but this has nothing to do with the shifting. Unless OMC had made a change that I'm not aware of, there are two controls there... one for the throttle and one for the shifting. Look closely to see if you are confusing the two. The shift rod I spoke of is actually inside the lower unit (a vertical rod), about 1 1/2" from the leading edge. It travels straight up, thru the center of the swivel bracket (the housing the engine steers/swivels on), and connects to a small lever that's located under the bottom carburetor.If you look closely between the bottom of the lower hood pan (the pan that the hood sits on)and that swivel bracket, you should be able to spot it. It will be coming straight up through the swivel bracket and will be about 1/4" to 5/16" in diameter.

Joe"

" Ok, here's what I know.

" Ok, here's what I know. Like I said, I this is my first outboard, and I don't know much about small engine repair, but I am good with figuring stuff out. The cable from the shifter goes into the motor on the starboard side, then circles around and up to the side of a round piece of metal(on the complete top of the motor, that I have been calling the flywheel). This is the piece that the pull start rope is atached too. In the back port side, it connects to a sliding black "switch", that you can see move between forward, neutral, and reverse. All this works fine from what I can see. My question is, do I need to remove the "flywheel" as I call it and look under it, or do I need to remove portions of the lower unit skin?? I have a digital camera if it will help.

Again, thanks so much, this time of year I am on the water a lot and don't have time(unless I have to) to take the boat in. It starts fine in gear, after a few extra pulls. Running without neutral and reverse is a pain, but I can deal with it for the time being.

I am good at mechanical stuff, but don't want to screw up my motor.

Thanks a ton

Frank "

" Frank.... What you are descr

" Frank.... What you are describing, a cable leading up to the manual starter/flywheel area would be a shift safety lockout device. The purpose of this device would be to prevent anyone from starting the engine in gear, especially at a high throttle setting. Have you bypassed this device or adjusted it in some manner... possibly someone else tinkered with it? At any rate, although that device should prevent you from cranking the engine over in gear, it has absolutely nothing to do with engaging or disengaging forward or reverse gear. See if you can find that shift rod as per my previous letter. "