by Joe
(Green Bay WI)
Won't shift into gears. When I started it up for the season, it would stay in reverse gear no matter the position of the remote lever. When I disconnect the upper shift rod from the lower, I can manually move the lower shift rod into gear so I believe the lower unit is good. When I reattach the shift rods together and try to shift with the remote lever, it won't shift into forward. The shift cable doesn't seem to move far enough forward and I have adjusted it as far as it will go. I've replaced both shift rod keepers and the lower one seems to want to pull off the shaft after I tighten the connector nut and try to shift. Are the upper and lower shift rods supposed to be touching before you screw the connecting nut back together? Could the problem be under the powerhead? This problem started after the engine sat for a year. It was shifting perfectly when I winterized it for the year. Any help, advice, diagrams etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!