3.0 Mercruiser how to remove the stern drive when stuck in neutral

[goingup]

Well I am stuck and need a little help. I am a 1st time boat owner and just picked up a 1989 Searay with the 3.0 Mercruiser. The shift cable between the top of the motor and the stern drive is stuck. I have seen I need to remove the stern drive but to do that it has to be in forward gear. My shift cable is stuck so I can't get into forward gear.
I have also read that I can split the upper and lower stern drive. But from the videos I have seen in order to do this one of the bolts you have to get at is at the very front of the stern drive and would not be accessible with it still mounted on the boat.
Any tips here?

 

[alldodge]

Have you tried disconnecting the lower shift cable from the shift plate on the motor, and using pliers to pull it as far forward as possible?

 

[goingup]

Yes, it does seem to want to budge. But I didn't really pull hard as I didn't want to damage the cable in case that isn't the problem. Maybe I should try some vise grips and really pull hard.

 

[alldodge]

Might need some help, but trim the drive up so you can gain access to the shift foot. Try to move the foot pointing forward as someone else pulls on the cable. Once foot is facing forward the drive can be removed after lowering drive

 

[goingup]

Great, I will give that a try. I am not 100% sure I know what you are talking about but I will look for some pictures to get a better idea.
Thanks for the help.

 

[alldodge]

The piece in the center is the shift foot. The drive is placed in forward gear so when the drive slides off, it slides straight off the foot

And the nut in front of the pic is also where the forward lower case attaching point is. So you could remove it, then the rest and drop the lower off the upper

 

[goingup]

Great, that helps clear things up. I will take another run at this tonight. Thanks for the help.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Just do not try to pry it off with screwdrives, steel wedges, etc.

 

[Bt Doctur]

 

[thumpar]

If you can't get it to go into forward just split the drive and leave the upper mounted then see if you can get the shoe to move.

 

[stonyloam]

Yeah, just unbolt the gearcase (lower) and drop it down, then it does not matter what gear it is in. Then you can pull the upper.