Shift shaft and power head problem

[Ttilford55]

I have a Honda BF150 A. Boat was new in 2009. After replacing the impeller, I must have jammed the shift shaft out of line putting the lower unit back on. It will not shift correctly. Also in this process, a washer and keeper, parts #’s 36 and 52 on diagram, have come out. Do I need to pull the power head to put these back on? Kick

 

[Gradyandwhaler]

Hi -- I have the exact same motor and problem. Did you ever figure out what the issue was? My washer and E keeper 36/52 were bent slightly, letting the gears 18 and 12 come un-meshed. (I carefully removed the e-keeper and unbent and reinstalled, which helped, but didn't cure the problem). I believe the problem is that #12 is actually slightly bent or something, allowing the gears to come un-meshed. Problem is my mechanic says you need to remove the power head to fix.