I'm assuming that this is a Cobra & not a stringer. If it's a Cobra then it sounds to me like u have a bad shift cable. You're mechanic should have known that if it's been in 3 or 4 times. He's either unfamiliar with the Cobra shift system or he's doing something wrong & he's not following all the steps. Problem is that the shift adjustments on these Cobras can be a p.i.t.a. to get right. Once the cable goes & if u don't have it serviced right away, damage can result to the clutch dogs & forward gear. It's a $1400-$1500 fix. When u run the boat do u hear a bump coming from the drive? If u do, u have a problem. That's the gears not meshing properly which damages the clutch dogs. Not good. If u want to replace the drive an option could be an aftermarket drive from SEI Sterndrives. The package to replace your Cobra will run u about 2k. That includes a new pivot housing & a new drive, which is basically an aftermarket Mercruiser. I may be going that route in the spring as I suspect the clutch dogs are shot in my Cobra & no way will I sink $1500 into repairing it. I can get the SEI with a 3 yr. warranty & not have to deal with the Cobra shift system, which in my opinion sucks. That's what put OMC into bankruptcy. Good luck.
