stuck in forward after reinstalling L/U (after ss seal replacement) Alpha1Gen2

Last night I went to fix a gear lube leak on my 96'Crownline 202BR (Mercruiser Alpha1Gen2). Put the throttle in forward and removed the lower unit... no problem. Found the shift shaft seal was bad- replaced it and went to put the lower unit back on. Everything lined-up perfectly (or so it seemed). Tighted all the bolts and went to put the boat back in neutral and can't get it to shift (it's stuck).
I didn't want to put too much pressure on it- so I stopped. Figured I must have somehow put the shift shaft into reverse when mating the upper and lower unit back together (even though everything went together perfectly).

Have I messed something up? Or can I simply do as I am thinking and drop the lower again and re-align. Is it possible to not drop the L/U completely, but just enough to grab the shift shaft and turn clockwise while turning the prop counterclockwise?

Anyone ever experienced this?
2 points- everything was in forward when I removed it.
I have not started the engine yet... want to make sure I could get it into neutral before doing possible damage.

Thanks for your help... I've learned a lot about my boat (and saved a ton of $ so far) from reading/learning on Iboats.

Re: stuck in forward after reinstalling L/U (after ss seal replacement) Alpha1Gen2

I suspect that your lower shift shaft came out of the shift crank, then it slipped out of forward into neutral or reverse, when you put it back together it is off by a spline, and when you try to shift out of F, it tries to turn the shift shaft counterclockwise and it is already as far as it will go, so it is jammed. To check: Try spinning the prop, if it does not lock when you spin it counterclockwise your gearhousing (lower) is not in forward. To fix: Control lever to WOT forward. Drop the lower unit, turn the lower shift shaft all the way clockwise, turn the prop counterclockwise till it locks and bungee it in place. If the lower ss is not pointed straight ahead, pull up on it, and position it correctly and push it back down, it should match the bottom of the upper ss, and put it back together. Should work then.

Re: stuck in forward after reinstalling L/U (after ss seal replacement) Alpha1Gen2

Thank you stonyloam...
Can I drop L/U before putting the control lever in forward? I can't remember but I think I tried pushing it further forward last night but was scared to cause any damage- so I stopped.
I'm sure it's still in forward anyway- so I will probably just drop the L/U again before messing with the control lever. Once I have the L/U off I will go and ensure it's forward WOT.

Unless you think otherwise...

Thanks again! Will update my thread with the results later tonight.

Re: stuck in forward after reinstalling L/U (after ss seal replacement) Alpha1Gen2

lilpropst said:

Thank you stonyloam...
Can I drop L/U before putting the control lever in forward?

Click to expand...

As long as you are not pulling the upper you can. When you try to pull the lever back, it tries to turn the shift shaft CCW, and that is where your problem might be, it is already all the way CCW. Pushing it back forward will turn the ss clockwise, so should cause no problem. Anyway try spinning the prop first, and see what you have.

Re: stuck in forward after reinstalling L/U (after ss seal replacement) Alpha1Gen2

this is the shift crank in the lower unit

Re: stuck in forward after reinstalling L/U (after ss seal replacement) Alpha1Gen2

Thanks guys. Prop was able to spin CCW without locking... so I was able to put the control lever forward WOT and then drop the L/U. I had the shift shaft in reverse vs forward... fixed that and hooked everything back up and I was good to go. Only took me about an hour.