Mercruiser Pre-Alpha Shifting

[tylerdale101]

Hello, I am 17 and trying to flip a boat. I have replaced the lower shift shift cable, bellows, and impeller. The brass lever/foot on lower unit is difficult to rotate, I must use a wrench to rotate it. But when i can rotated it goes into drive-neutral-reverse. I can't figure out what is wrong. Thanks for any help available!

 

[tylerdale101]

Mercruiser 898, Chevy 305 V8

 

[Bt Doctur]

The brass lever/foot on lower unit is difficult to rotate, I must use a wrench to rotate it. But when i can rotated it goes into drive-

The brass shoe turn with greased fingers of a 2 year old. Figure out what went wrong and correct it. A corroded shift shaft bushing can make the shaft tight also