In middle of first impeller job, propeller is no longer "locked" to forward.
Well I'm in the middle of my first impeller job for my merc cruiser alpha 1 gen 2.
I shifted into full forward before I removed the lower unit.
But after removing the housing for the impeller and keyway, i found that the prop can now go forward or backward freely.
Before something was preventing it from spinning backward as it was shifted forward...
Did I screw something up?
Well I'm in the middle of my first impeller job for my merc cruiser alpha 1 gen 2.
I shifted into full forward before I removed the lower unit.
But after removing the housing for the impeller and keyway, i found that the prop can now go forward or backward freely.
Before something was preventing it from spinning backward as it was shifted forward...
Did I screw something up?
, all's good... There is no detent on the gears in a Mercruiser box. They fall in and out of gear without you even feeling it. If you rotate the shift shaft clockwise while turning the prop counter clockwise (reverse) it will all lock up again. Conversely you could turn the shift shaft CCW and the prop CW and it will lock in reverse.... Do it all anyway and learn how the drive feels . In the future if you need to know, you have 'prior knowledge' and will know what should be and what shouldn't be....