Shifting

[Chris Craft 21]

My 4.3/Alpha One powered rig is becoming increasingly harder to get into neutral, requiring more "jiggling" to come out of gear. Starting is not an issue, nor is not staring once in gear so the switches are being made jut fine. My thought was to spray some lube into the shifter housing. The controls are a bit stiff too, leading me to think the cables could tolerate some lube. Before I begin is there any particular lube that would be better to use, or any to avoid?

 

[CaptainMak]

Re: Shifting

My 4.3/Alpha One powered rig is becoming increasingly harder to get into neutral, requiring more "jiggling" to come out of gear. Starting is not an issue, nor is not staring once in gear so the switches are being made jut fine. My thought was to spray some lube into the shifter housing. The controls are a bit stiff too, leading me to think the cables could tolerate some lube. Before I begin is there any particular lube that would be better to use, or any to avoid?

A good sign your cable is going. I believe Mercruiser manual states that these cable should NOT be lubed.
Start looking at some cables. Usually these run $50-$90 for the complete setup WITH the shift cable bellows. (which is also a MUST to change when doing the cable). When was the last time a new shift cable was done ?