"My outboard suddenly stopped
"My outboard suddenly stopped shifting into reverse properly. The local shop took it apart and saw the shift cam is broken.
They recommended replacing the forward and reverse gears, and the mechanism between, saying the corners are worn from the tabs that engage the gears. Total cost would be $1200.
My question is, how worn can those parts be and still work properly? The motor worked fine before the shift cam broke, so I'm thinking I can save the $500 or so of parts by just replacing the cam.
My other option is to look for a good used lower unit. What other motors will have the same lower unit.
It's 1998 3-cylinder Mercury, and I think the mechanic said the serial number started with OMG."
"My outboard suddenly stopped shifting into reverse properly. The local shop took it apart and saw the shift cam is broken.
They recommended replacing the forward and reverse gears, and the mechanism between, saying the corners are worn from the tabs that engage the gears. Total cost would be $1200.
My question is, how worn can those parts be and still work properly? The motor worked fine before the shift cam broke, so I'm thinking I can save the $500 or so of parts by just replacing the cam.
My other option is to look for a good used lower unit. What other motors will have the same lower unit.
It's 1998 3-cylinder Mercury, and I think the mechanic said the serial number started with OMG."