DF6 Hard to shift

2003 model from one use to the

2003 model from one use to the next became very hard to shift. Lever will move and go into gear forward and reverse but only with a great deal of effort. Tried to spray lube the point where clutch lever goes into housing with no change. What's next?

remove the shift cable and try

remove the shift cable and try shifting

If you mean the NSI cable I di

If you mean the NSI cable I did that. I also dropped the lower unit and the shft rod and gear change operate fine. With the lower unit removed the clutch lever is still locked up. Unfortunately it appears as though the driveshaft housing has to be removed to access the clutch plate assy. It may be corroded between the O rings. Are there any other points of contact between the clutch rod and driveshaft housing? There is a good deal of carbon evident along the clutch rod and shift rod. Perhaps a frozen clutch notch pin pressing against the clutch plate? It would be great not to remove the drivesahft housing. Thank you for the feed back.

"As Murphy would have it, the

"As Murphy would have it, the toughest fix is required. The power head had to come of to remove the clutch aka shift plate. It was caked with dried up grease and the O rings were bone dry. It was impossible to move the shift lever fore and aft. Disassemble, clean, lube and reassemble. What a pain for something that could be avoided by having a grease fitting in the driveshaft housing. What was Suzuki thinking?....$$$$$$$$$$$ maybe?"

How did the power head come off? My Power head seem to be stuck on.

I have a DF6 with the same problem, i took the 9 bolts out, and the bolt to drain the oil, and it will not come off.

update: 2 guid pis are sticky. A fre taps with a soft hammer by the pins goy it off.

My shift lever was dry inside and would not turn. Cleaned it and the inside tube, added marine lube, and it works better than new.

Yep, I've the same problem too (both DF6 and year 2003).
I'm quite "young" in self-repairing , therefore I was wondering if there's anybody willing to share some knowledge with regards to the df6 gear shifting problem.

I'll try to shoot a couple of questions. Here they're:

1) Is there any reference/manual/tutorial available that explains how to "divide and conquer" the df6? I mean... which bolt should I start from? Pictures?
2) Assumed that my DF6 (hard to shift) has the same problems as yours... should I first buy any spare parts or is it just a matter of cleaning and greasing things?

Thanks a milliion
Marco

yes

browns point marina has a very good DF6 manual

http://store.brownspoint.com/detail.asp?product_id=99500-91J02-01E