1997 Merc 150 EFI stuck in neutral

Slow Ride

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Sep 17, 2011
Messages
166
Fellas, We put the boat in the water this week to go offshore and found that one of the motors will not go into gear, neither forward or reverse. The throttle control works fine. I can push the button on the side of the binnacle and rev the engine but it will not go into gear. Sooo...... I spend some time on it today. I took apart the binnacle control and found that it was in surprisingly good shape. Nothing out of order there. No bent/broken parts. No loose bolts, etc. Opened the other side for comparison and found absolutely nothing that should cause a problem. Cleaned, lubricated and reassembled. I then disconnected the cables from the engine side. The controls work normal. I can shift into forward and reverse at the helm but as I mentioned, the engine is disconnected so it is really just the cables sliding back and forth. Again, compared to the other motor for reference and all looks normal. Reassembled after cleaning and mild lubrication. I then removed the lower unit because I was sure the issue was with the gear box at this point. Nope! With the cables connected and the lower unit removed, the gear selector cable will not budge. I'm not familiar with the rest of the linkage between the cable and the gear box. Does anyone know of a common issue in this area or have any insight on what I should check next. I'm almost ready to turn it over to the local dealer for help but thought I'd take one last crack at it if anyone can offer any advice.

Thanks a million for any insight!

Dave
 

Slow Ride

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Sep 17, 2011
Messages
166
Shift block? Not sure what that is. I grabbed the lever that the cable connects to on the engine side with a pair of channel locks and attempted to move it. No way. Stuck in place. By contrast, I can move the one on the other engin.
 

jerryjerry05

Supreme Mariner
Joined
May 7, 2008
Messages
17,923
The shift shaft that connects under the front of the motor is probably seized.
​The shaft needs to be lubed and worked loose.
​Try graphite grit like you'd use to lap valves.
It's hard to get to but keep trying.

Otherwise the powerhead needs to come off.
 
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