merc problem with reverse 20 hp 97or 98

hello everyone. i had just been having problems with my merc it has the forward and reverse on the throttle and it goes into reverse when it wants to. it just will not budge when it is not working. it goes into forward no problem. i have no idea what this could be. if anyone knows gimmie a shout thanks alot

Re: merc problem with reverse 20 hp 97or 98

sorry to hear that you are having the same problem as me. have a 25 doing the same thing. did not have a problem until I had it serviced. the dealer changed the water impeller and it will shift from netural to foward every time but in reverse it will only shift once or twice and then it is hung up. had it back to dealer 3 times and he drops the lower end and finds nothing binding and does not know what is sticking. it is at the dealer now. he has not been charging me so far as I told him I did not have this problem before he serviced this motor. This is his last chance, if he does not get it right this time I will have to take it somewhere else and pay.

Re: merc problem with reverse 20 hp 97or 98

There is a tiller tube inside the tiller handle,that connects the grip with the pulley that moves the shift cables.I've seen the failure of this tube (bonding of ends to the tube) that causes erratic shifting.Had 3 or 4 of them a few years back,so I started stocking them.
Had to put the first one in a vise to prove it was bad.Sort of like a spun prop when it first begins to fail.

DHP