Shift linkage ball fell out of lower unit?!?

[spinfly]

1995 Suzuki DT40.

Had to pull the shift linkage out of lower unit when I inspected the gears. Turned the unit upside down and a 1/4 ball fell out. I see a notch on the back side of the linkage, looks like this ball goes there.

Is this right? If so, how do I get it back in? I was unable to get the pinion gear off the drive shaft, and therefor could not get the forward gear out--so if anyone can tell me how to get the pinion gear unstuck from the drive shaft, that may enable me to access the area where the ball goes. But I may be way off here.

Thank you in advance.

 

[spinfly]

Re: Shift linkage ball fell out of lower unit?!?

Issue resolved.

This ball does go behind the shift cam, in a hole in the front of the gear housing, in front of the forward gear. Also, I had to use an 8-pound sledge to literally beat the entire lower unit housing off of the drive shaft. For an unknown reason, the pinion gear was froze to the d/s spindles. Thought I was going to tear something up, but it finally gave way. So if you run into this, don't be afraid to be aggressive!

Here's a diagram of my clutch assembly, in case you need a reference. The ball that fell out is part # 14.