mercruiser 120 shift question

[mrbowhunter]

I relaced and adj. Took it out on the water and everything worked fine.
boat was then stored for 10 years. When I tried to shift it it acted bound up, and only had neutral,I thought it was the shift cable so I took the outdrive off and the cable was fine....I turned the shift pawl manualy and I had FWD. N. and REV.
now I have the unit allmost back on and cant get anything but neutral again..... its a pain in the butt @ home to do this so
I was operating the cable by hand and it moves the shift pawl to the left but I think it needs to be turning to the right.......
any thoughts guys? Thanx Ray

 

[dubs283]

Re: mercruiser 120 shift question

when the shift lever is straight fore and aft it is in fwd gear, when it moves to the port (left) it shifts to neu, then further left rev

it is possibe sitting for ten years the shift cable has bound up from not being used

 

[stonyloam]

Re: mercruiser 120 shift question

Did you have the gearhousing (lower) off, impeller change? Is it an Alpha 1 or a Gen II (post 92). If you did have the lower off, sounds like the shift shaft is off a spline. Just need a little more info and should be able to figure this out.

 

[mrbowhunter]

Re: mercruiser 120 shift question

Did you have the gearhousing (lower) off, impeller change? Is it an Alpha 1 or a Gen II (post 92). If you did have the lower off, sounds like the shift shaft is off a spline. Just need a little more info and should be able to figure this out.

No I havent had it off,(the lower unit) and if I turn the shift pawl to port (left) I get nuthing but neutral, but the cable makes it go streight or to the left, it doesnt go to the right looking forward

 

[stonyloam]

Re: mercruiser 120 shift question

OK that helps. If you did not remove the gearhousing, then the only other thing that could cause your problem is that the shift slide on the end of the cable is not properly engaging the upper shift shaft lever. There is a little wheel on the underside of the upper shift shaft lever that is held between two arms of slide. When the slide moves back and forth it rotates the lever to change gears. I think maybe the wheel is not between the arms (in front of them) so you can not shift and it tends to bind. Here is a photo from Ziggy http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&h...=183&start=0&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:0,i:97
Need to pull it off and make sure the lever and slide are in the correct position.

P.S. While you have it off, after 10 years of sitting it would be wise to change the impeller.

 

[Dookie15]

Re: mercruiser 120 shift question

I have a 85 four winns with a mercruiser I/O 120hp and it runs great but will not go in gear?? I pulled lower shift cable and pull by hand. There is very little resistance and does go into N. fwd and rev position but prop does not spin?? There is resistance when in gear but when you throttle, it does not spin. You can hear it click when pulling on cable but it doesn't feel fully engaged?? It is also not pulling in water when started?? Probably impeller replacement?? It has been sitting for awhile. Someone told me to check the pin on end of cable at lower unit, maybe came out?? It is not seized up because when in gear, you can still turn prop by hand( very stiff, normal??) hopefully you can understand my issue, not the best with the boat terminology thanks

 

[Fishermark]

Re: mercruiser 120 shift question

Welcome aboard Dookie15! You need to start a new post with your issue in order to get help. It will not be seen tacked onto the end of an old post.