Yami t9.9 lower unit stuck in forward

[Captain Mustard]

I have a T9.9ELHC high thrust 4 stroke, I think its an '03 (new to me). When I got it there was no tell tale stream, so it hasn't been run for more than 5 seconds. Got an impeller kit and did the replacement, when putting it all back together I noticed the lower unit is stuck in forward.
I've actually put it back on the engine like this, but will not shift out off forward....so I took it back off. The problem is in the lower unit and not the tiller mechanism. It's the got a push pull type shifter and it will not move out of forward gear, although I haven't used all my might to force it. From what I understand a cloth and pliers should easily shift.

Is there something I'm missing here? The lower unit (off the engine) should shift easily F-N-R, right? ...was shifting fine before I started this.

Seems like the dog clutch is stuck? today I drained the gear oil, seemed ok, doesn't seem milky and no metal fillings.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thinking about trying more force to shift, but seems like a bad idea.

 

[Captain Mustard]

One more piece of information: when removing the lower unit I partially screwed off the shift shaft and pulled a bit on the lower unit to jar it loose. I should have removed it entirely first (my mistake). It is possible the shift shaft was pulled up (into forward) rather hard, but not insane.

Thanks for reading

 

[rejesterd]

Yes, it should push down without too much force. If you put your shift lever in forward at the control box, then reinstall the lower unit, can it shift back into neutral & reverse?

I don't see how the dog clutch could get stuck. I can only see how the shift rod might get bent so that the shift plunger wasn't engaging it properly. Obviously, you would have to remove the gear housing to check that.

 

[Captain Mustard]

Thanks for the reply,
I did reinstall all the way, but it is still stuck in forward. With the lower unit removed the motor shifting is normal, the problem is definitely the lower unit.

How crazy is it to take apart the gear housing? Seems like it might be quite a venture...new gaskets I presume.

Is over pulling the shift lever likely the cause?

 

[rejesterd]

It's possible that when you pull up too far, it can't re-engage the shift plunger. But mine has the twisting cam style, so your guess is probably as good as mine on that.

Yours looks pretty easy to remove (pretty sure you have a 2004 though). There's 2 bolts, and usually there will be some grooves in the outer shell of the housing where you can pry with a big screwdriver. I doubt you need a puller tool. Mine came off very easily after being on there for about 9 years. However it's never been in saltwater, and I know that makes a big difference. But once you get it off, it's just 3 o-rings on the inside you would need to replace. If you go that far, you might as well replace the oil seals at the prop. They're cheap and will likely need to be replaced anyway at some point.

 

[Captain Mustard]

Good news. I kinda figured out what's going on....

I removed the shift shaft from the top (against my better judgement). I needed to refrain the gear oil (that I just refilled) and I could see the plunger that moves the dog clutch.

This post was helpful: https://forums.iboats.com/forum/eng...ury-bb-850-shift-shaft-came-out-of-lower-unit

The plunger was all the way forward with no room for the wedge to reseat. I used a price tie wire and rotated prop to move the plunger back a bit. Presto...wedge fit back in.

Gonna refill gear oil and see if it's all going back together....stoked I didn't need full disassembly.

See pics if this doesn't make sense. Thanks rejestered

 

[Captain Mustard]

Alright, things are happening.
re-installed without issue. At first there was no tell tale, then second start I got the tiniest sputter. Small amount of water got pretty warm, then shut off and let sit. After a few more cycles she's peeing good, water is a comfortable warm.
Next test will be in the deep water.