Engine won't shift

[joeldavidmeyer]

I recently acquired a a Johnson 9.9 probably from the mid-80s. It fires up and sounds healthy, but it will not shift out of neutral. It was previously run in salt water, but hasn't been run in a number of years. I lubes up everything external that I could see to no avail. Anyone had any experience with a situation like this?

 

[timguy]

Probably got oxidation in shift rod area of lower unit. Would be wise to carefully remove lower unit and fully inspect. Water pump replacement too. I have a spare lower unit if everything is eaten up, they interchange for decades. Long or shortshaft?

 

[racerone]

Drain the gear oil.-----Or shift rod connecter screw stripped and fell out.