What’s up guys. Lately my 1990 Yamaha 200 ETXD has been running great. However the other night I ended up needing a tow in. Started the boat to move spots and put it in forward gear and there was a slight grinding noise almost sounded like if you slowly advance the throttle and it grinds. It went into gear and was find after that. At the end of the night I again started the bot and this time no matter what I tried it would not engage in forward. No grinding noise no clunk nothing. Just would rev. However reverse worked. After a few tries of to get it to engage I noticed reverse wouldn’t engage either. Got home and dropped the lower unit and it seems as if the female end of the shift shafts splines are worn therefore not grabbing the lower units male splines. Using a cloth and a pair of pliers I’m able to easily get the lower unit in both forward and reverse. Drained lower units oil and it looks great no leaks. My question is, is something like this common? Do the splines wear down to where they can no longer engage the gears?
