'74 Merc 7.5HP Shifting Problem

[eyebrowski]

I picked up this OB (SN 3931109) not running and in need of a little work (gummed carb, kinked fuel line, wrong spark plugs, water pump). I got this all taken care of and it is running great on the bench with one exception, I can not get the motor to shift into any gear.

With the lower end off the shift lever moves freely and linkage rotates down to the lower end. The prop spins and I can manually turn the shaft on the lower end and get the lower end to shift into F-N-R. BUT, when I bolt it all back together I can not move the shift lever.

When reassembling I assure that the shift lever and lower end are in the same position (eg, forward, neutral, reverse). Any thoughts?

 

[60sboater]

Not sure but you could look on YT for vids. I did an impeller replacement on a '73 9.8 last year and it all works. I have a Seloc manual but also viewed vids on YT and talked with guys on another Merc forum. Seems like the s.s. is not engaging correctly between LU and top seeing that stuff works with LU off.

 

[eyebrowski]

I am starting to think I have an issue with the shift lever. Do these 3 positions look correct?

 

[thdrduck]

No. Strait up is neutral, tipped forward is forward and tipped back is reverse. Looks like something is not right with the shift linkage.

 

[eyebrowski]

No. Strait up is neutral, tipped forward is forward and tipped back is reverse. Looks like something is not right with the shift linkage.

Thank you, this is what I suspected.

 

[Chinewalker]

That's just the lever, though. The shaft is the important part, and it's not hard to install the lever incorrectly on the shaft. The shaft, unless it's broken, will not move beyond its norma F-N-R range. Take the nut off the base of the handle, pull the handle off and re-set it to proper positioning.

 

[eyebrowski]

It looks like the previous owner had the shift gear apart and didn't clock it correctly when reinstalling.

I took the shift lever / linkage apart so the shaft could spin freely. Reinstalled the lower end. Then reassembled the shift linkage in the correct orientation.