200hp Yamaha Hard Shifting

[caldemaxi]

The Engine Is A 1985 But The Lower Unit Is A 1989 Purchased Used From A Dealer 8 Years Ago. I Also Changed The Shift Rod 8 Years Ago . I Change The Lower Unit Oil Every Year And I Have Never Seen Any Sign Of Metal In The Oil.
When Shifting,it Snaps Fine Into Either Forward Or Reverse(although It Does Not Move As Easily As It Used To). The Problem Is When It's In Forward And I Try To Shift It Into Neutral . The Shift Handle Stops Before It "clicks" Into Neutral. I Have To Apply More Than Usual Pressure To Get It To Click Into Neutral.
At First ,I Thought It Might Be A Cable Problem So I Disconnected The Cables At The Engine And They Move Freely. Could It Be A Cable Adjustment? But Why Would That Have Changed?
Unfortunately I Just Put The Boat In The Water For The Season And Realized This Problem So I'm Limited On How Much I Can Do Until I Pull It Out.
I Don't Want To Force It And Damage The Lower Unit. My Plan Is To Remove The Lower Unit And See How Easily It Shifts Alone. Also To Inspect The Shift Rod For Corrosion. Also See How Smoothly The Shift Handle Moves Without The Lower Unit Installed.
I've Loooked At The Exploded View Of The Lower Unit In The Yamaha Manual. It Looks Like There's An Offset "rod" On The Lower Shift Rod That Moves The Shifter And Clutch Dog Forward Or Backward To Engage The Gears. Is This Usually A Problem Area? Can It Be Diagnosed Without Complete Disassembly?
Any Ideas Would Be Greatly Appreciated. Thanks In Advance For Your Help.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: 200hp Yamaha Hard Shifting

first I would look at idle in gear RPM, anything over about 700 its hard to get out of gear. then I would disconnect the link at the powerhead and try manually shifting with the gearcase submerged and engine running. then carefully inspect the cable.
thats the normal problem.
the bushing at the powerhead can corrode and create hard shifting if someone fails to grease it.
but pulling the lower is a last option not a first.
usually its a failing shift cable
8 years ago the replacement shift rod should have been the stainless one, its been out since about 1995

 

[caldemaxi]

Re: 200hp Yamaha Hard Shifting

The In-gear Idle Speed Is About 600rpm.
I Disconnected The Link At The Power Head And Then Shifted It Into Reverse. Then Put It Back Into Neutral. It Didn't Move Easily Either Direction.
I Pulled It Into Forward. As I Was Trying To Push It Back Into Neutral ,it Stalled . I Tried To Push It Back Into Neutral Not Running But It Wasn't Moving And I Didn't Want To Force It.
It Was Getting Dark So I Stopped There.
I Did Notice That When I Disconnected The Link ,the Shift Handle At The Control Box Was "clicked"into Neutral But The Shift Rod Lever On The Engine Was 3/4 Of The Way Back Towards Reverse.(i Would Have Expected It To Be In The Center). I Moved The Shift Handle Forward And Then Back To Neutral. Now The Link On The End Of The Cable Was In The Center Of Its Travel Range ,not In The Same Position. Does This Indicate A Cable Problem As Well?

 

[caldemaxi]

Re: 200hp Yamaha Hard Shifting

Appologize for the late response. (Took a while to get the boat out of the water.) Once it was on land and quiet ,it was easy to hear that the binding was at the bushing at the top of the shift rod (just as Rodbolt said). My fault, since it hasn't been greased in 8yrs. I do spray it with wd40 but appearantly that isn't enough. There is no grease fitting.
I freed it up by disconnecting linkage and removing the c-clip on the underside of the shift rod bracket. Then slid the rod up as far as it could go. Combination of spray lube,grease, rotating,up-down movement and patience and it moves like new again. The tricky part of assembly was installing the c-clip again but the right-angle snap-ring pliers worked the first try.
If anyone knows of a better way to grease this I'd appreciate it.
Thanks again Rodbolt for your help.