Re: Lower unit gear order 87 force 125
The gear closest to the prop is the reverse gear. At least according to my Clymer manual it is. The gear closest to the front of the leg is the forward gear.
Put a little grease on the shift yoke #73 to hold it in place in the shift pin #25. Make sure the open end of the slot on the shift yoke where it slips onto the shift pin is pointed down, otherwise the yoke will eventually fall off.
Before you insert the propeller shaft with the shift yoke held in place with grease, make sure that you pull up on the shift rod so that the slots on the shift coupler #45 are facing towards the two nubs on the shift yoke. The two nubs slide into the slots on the shift coupler. You may have to kind of hold the clutch dog in the forward position, towards the front of the gear case to get the nubs on the shift yoke engaged with the slots on the shift coupler. The clutch dog and shift pin have a tendency to want to slide back as you push the propeller shaft in.
One other thing. Make sure the gear case itself is sitting in the straight upright position just like it is in the run position on your boat. Gravity makes the shift coupler kind of **** towards one side or another if the gear case is not straight up and down. It's a little easier to get the nubs lined up with the slots when the shift coupler is perfectly centered and not cocked to one side. What I do is I clamp the gear case in a vice by the skeg with a couple of rags to prevent scratches and gouges on the skeg.
Mercury, Mercruiser, Force, etc. - GEAR HOUSING - FORCE 1987 85 HP "B" MODELS
Good luck!
