At the back of the motor there is a rubber plug on top of the cavitation plate directly above the Fin behind the prop. Remove that cap, remove the bolt that holds that fin on and there's another bolt that goes up from the bottom. But, on some models there's a bolt directly above the prop that goes up from the bottom. Look for that first. Also, your shift linkage is actually a splined rod that turns, so there's nothing to disconnect that is shift related.
