6hp 4stroke shift shaft issue

Just replaced the water pump in my 6hp longshaft 4-stroke merc (nissan/tohatsu clone). when I came to fit the gearcase back on I ran into issues. I had it in reverse when I removed the gearcase and I tried to get the thing back together in reverse but no dice in the process I seem to have struck a problem with the shift shaft. If I turn the driveshaft clockwise then the prop shaft turns clock wise if I pull or push on the shift shaft I can't find neutral or reverse. There is a little up and down play in the shift shaft and I can rotate the shift shaft 1/2 a turn or so in either direction but I can't pick up neutral or reverse. Have I some how damaged the shift mechanism? I don't recall using any excessive force that would have broken anything?

I take it that you still have the LU down. Seems you are in F (cam 47 rod is up). Since you can rotate the cam rod, you likely pulled the cam rod up too far -- out of contact with the push rod 23. At this point, you need to rotate the cam rod so that the flat side of the sliding cam faces aft (the offset end of the cam rod goes forward, not to the side or aft), and then get it to slide down so that it engages the push rod. You may need to release the cam rod bushing 48 to do that; If you still can't get it, you will need to release the prop shaft housing 9 to take pressure off of the push rod. If so, drain the LU lube, as it will run out past the housing o-ring once it is pulled out about 3/8". Be advised that if you remove the entire prop shaft housing, you need to be careful not to drop the push rod inside the LU.

Thanks for the advice and going to the trouble of posting the picture. In teh end I took the gearcase to thd local merc shop the guy jiggled it a couple of times with more force than I dared use and viola he got it clicked back into place.

Thanks, Paul, for this write up. Two years later it has saved me from doing exploratory surgery on my lower unit. I was able to jiggle the "cam rod" "shift shaft" into place while tilting the LU back for gravity assist with the pushrod.