Mariner 8hp shift problem

[wmrayt]

I changed the water pump impeller on my made in Japan Mariner Ser#667AS015210 1978 8hp 8M. Foolishly I did not read up on this first. When removing the lower unit I did not disconnect the the shift linkage. I pulled the lower rod quite a ways out of the lower unit.
After disconnecting it and changing the impeller I put things back together with no problems. But unfortunately the engine is stuck in forward gear. I took back apart and the lower shift rod does nothing when trying to push up and down. It comes out freely from the lower unit after taking the water pump off and removing the rubber sleeve.
I looked into the lower unit with a endoscope and see no broken parts nor any thing in the bottom loose.
The rod does not move anything even when tapped with screwdriver handle.
There is a rod/pin that goes all the way across inside the hole that the rod goes into. There is also a pin/rod that goes half way across the hole at a 90deg angle to the other rod.

 

[galamb]

At the bottom of the shift rod there is a (wedge).

At the front of the propshaft there is a (spring loaded) plunger.

When it's all together properly, the wedge depresses or releases the plunger which in turn (ultimately) allows the gears to shift.

Once you pulled the rod out "too far" that plunger extended far enough forward in the case that you can no longer get the wedge at the end of the rod back where it should be.

You can check out the diagram here: http://www.marineengine.com/parts/mariner-outboard-parts/8b/677000101-and-up-m/gearhousing-assembly
to see what I'm trying to explain - the plunger is part #37 and the (wedge) is at the bottom of part #26.

The only way that I know how to get it back to functional is to remove the bearing carrier and slide the propshaft out enough to get the rod back where it belongs. If you go that route (which is a pain), it's a good opportunity to inspect/replace any of the propshaft seals, o-rings etc that are showing signs of wear.