Re: Cobra hard to shift and no reverse
The things that need attention are the shifter bellcrank in the pivot housing, deposits build up behind it and they can lead to stiff shifting, the pivot points of the cables on the engine bracket and the shift shaft that you lubed. I grease all of them with OMC triple guard grease. Also make sure that your in the water idle in gear is not more than 550-600 and that the ESA works. When you re-install the drive make sure you coat the gasket with OMC gasket sealer on both sides, that helps keep water out of the pocket behind the bellcrank, which also reduces deposits that can make the shifting stiff. This all assumes you have a good transom shift cable and it's adjusted correctly.