Writing this for the benefit of those who may encounter this problem and are searching Google for a solution...
Depending on your motor, you may be in for the most frustrating DIY of your entire life. If the U-shaped yolk that sits in the rod that moves the clutch dog has become unseated, you have to take it apart from the top. That's the easy part. On my 1994 Force 120, the mechanism at the bottom of the shifting rod--the one that the pivot screw goes into--BARELY fits through the space above the area where it eventually sits. If you want to line it up and then drop it straight down, you would have to do some grinding. It took my mechanic literally about five hours to do. Here's how we did it. (The world would also benefit from a description of a better method, so please feel free to decry my method and suggest a better one.)
1. With the oil drained, the shifting rod completely removed, and the yoke sitting in the 90 degree mechanism that "holds" it, string a piece of fishing line so it holds the yoke in place and also lifts the 90 degree thing. (Ideally, you want two fishing lines--one to guide the yolk and another to guide the 90 degree holder, but unless you're General Grievous, you only have two hands, and you need one to insert the pivot screw.)
2. Lower the entire rod assembly in, preferably while wearing a headlamp. Use the fishing line to align the yolk with the notch in the rod that moves the clutch dog below. Make sure the yolk sits there nicely.
3. Using a hammer, tap the top of the shifting rod to slowly put it in place. Be careful to keep it lined up vertically with the pivot screw hole.
3a. Repeat step 3 approximately 9,873 times until you get it right.
4. While looking through the pivot screw hole, you're going to see part of the hole the screw has to be inserted into. When you see that, insert an awl, a nail, or something else. Then use the inserted pointy object to properly align the hole. At this point, some or all of the resistance caused by the awkwardly angled cavity the shift rod assembly has to slip into should go away. If it doesn't, just keep tapping the awl or nail anyway.
5. Once the holes are aligned sufficiently, insert the screw.
6. Go home and apologize to your wife for taking 5 hours to insert a stinking screw.
Again, please suggest a better method. My screw ended up falling out in the water and it's now stuck in gear, so I'm about to go do this all over again because I just KNOW the yolk has slipped out, too, cuz that's how life is. Gonna caulk it in place this time.
After consulting my (after market) manual I became painfully aware of the huge mistake I made - the informative posts on this site as well as my manual calls for the total disassembly of the lower unit.. I'm hopeful that someone has worked on this same problem on same model & year 89 (or possibly 88) Force 125 and/or can offer their advice & wisdom... Is it possible to remove the water pump and housing & access the pivot from above to correct or is further dismantling required? Thanks in advance for any help!!<br /><br />AO
