Mariner lower unit hard to put back

[Longman]

I have a Mariner 40HP 2 stroke. Lower unit was damaged so I bought an used one. The used one was in neutral and I can rotate prop shaft freely. So I put outboard in neutral and removed the damaged lower unit. When I put the replacement lower unit back, I managed to get drive shaft in but shift shaft was stuck. After quite a few tries and failures, I put outboard in just a little forward, then shift shaft got in. Now when I put outboard in neutral, prop shaft can still rotate both way but with some resistance clockwise and more resistance with clicking sound count clockwise; when I put outboard in forward gear, it rotates clockwise with rachet, and is locked count clockwise; when I put it in reverse gear, it is locked both way. What is the problem?

 

[racerone]

That all sounds correct and normal.

 

[tlewis1]

Yup sounds just fine....Run it up and test shift function while the engine is idling..

 

[Longman]

But why I had to shift outboard to a little bit forward in order to push in, while lower unit was in neutral (rotating both way freely) ?

 

[flyingscott]

You should not have a clicking sound in neutral. You may need to adjust the shift linkage or shift cable.

 

[GA_Boater]

Neutral should be free and silent, LU on the ground or all buttoned up and installed.

You should not move the remote control to mesh the shift rod and shaft. That's what I read in your post.

Offer up the lower unit in neutral, rotate the flywheel to mesh the motor and driveshaft splines, use a long, thin screwdriver to align the water tube and a long, thin pair of needle nose pliers to turn the shift ever so slightly to engage the shift rod.

If everything was working before the old LU went bad, cables shouldn't need adjusting. That's been my experience, for what it's worth.

 

[Longman]

Neutral should be free and silent, LU on the ground or all buttoned up and installed.

You should not move the remote control to mesh the shift rod and shaft. That's what I read in your post.

Offer up the lower unit in neutral, rotate the flywheel to mesh the motor and driveshaft splines, use a long, thin screwdriver to align the water tube and a long, thin pair of needle nose pliers to turn the shift ever so slightly to engage the shift rod.

If everything was working before the old LU went bad, cables shouldn't need adjusting. That's been my experience, for what it's worth.

I think everything was not perfect before. I had to push fast idle down and move the remote control very quickly to forward, in order to avoid engine stall at idle. I often heard cracking sound when the remote control got into forward. Maybe this also contributed the damage of gear.

Now without taking down lower unit, I mean the shift rod was pushed in with remote control pushed just a little bit forward (not as far as the "Forward" mark on the remote), I have adjusted shift cable. The propeller is free to rotate both ways without any resistance or sound when remote is in neutral, with rachet at clockwise and locked at count clockwise when remote is in forward, and locked both ways when remote is in reverse. Is it ok now? Do I have to take down lower unit and mount it back with remote control in absolutely neutral?

Thanks to everyone giving me your advices!

 

[racerone]

You may need to investigate stalling issues with the MOTOR and not the control box.-----Start with a compression test.