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1986 35 hp Mercury. Won’t shift

B

Bill mat

New member
I took my boat out of the lake last week. All was good until I parked in the driveway. Now it won’t shift out of gear. I think it’s stuck in forward. I disconnected the shift and throttle cables and it still is stuck in gear. I changed the gear oil and there was some metal on the drain screws magnet. My question is should I take the lower unit off the motor and is it ok to leave the motor separated for the winter(it’s stored outside). I really need a repair manual but am not sure which is the best one. And suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
 
I take my LU off every winter to prevent theft and when I reinstall it I grease the driveshaft and shiftshaft splines, I also remove the water pump cover to let the impeller "breathe" this way I get 3 yrs. out of one. With the LU off see if you can shift it thru the gears - turn the prop shaft while shifting into reverse, I had the upper shift shaft rust away and couldn't shift gears too.
 
Wow! That's dedication. (It also makes one proficient in getting this done right!)

Jeff

“Let’s go Brandon!”
 
Ok so I took off the lower unit today. I found that every that stayed with the motor moves freely. I could also turn the shaft on the lower unit and could go from reverse to neutral. I wasn’t sure which way forward was and didn’t want to break anything. I used my hand to turn the shaft. The cam thing was pretty beat up so I am going to buy one of those and hopefully that was my problem. I am also going to replace a the water pump vane. I did also order a repair manual. Thanks again for the help
 
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