Help!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

one of my stupid merc 2.5L won't shift out of Neutral.? everything was working fine then nothing. any ideas?

Could be the shift interupter. Does the shifter move and still not engage or is the shifter locked in place. Thats all i can think of but I am sure you thought of that already.

the shifter moves, just does nothing, I get just a tiny bit of grinding when it is trying to go into reverse.....? what is a shift interupter?

It will cut the idle down for just a second to let the clutch disengage. The engine almost stalls for a second. This is needed to release the preasure so you can shift. I had this happen once. The service person disconnected it and I hit a dock because I was not aware of his forgetfulness. The shifter was VERY hard to move but did move. You had to stand on it. If yours moves freely then that is probably not the problem. Maybe the cable broke? I wish I could help more.

Not sure, but my 2.4 EFI's are not to be shifted while running, Its a quick turn off, shift, then start. They do start just fine in gear though. Wish I could be of more help.

There is no shift interupter on an o/b motor. The motors shift in the lower gear cases. Ck the oil screw and see if water comes out, or if the gear oil looks like a milkshake. This would mean water intrusion.
Disconnect the shift cable on the motor side, and see if the shift lever moves the cable end. Outboard motors are very sensative to cable adjustment. If the cable has stretched past its servicable limit you will need to replace it.
Shift the motor manualy and see if it will lock into both forward or reverse. Be extremely carefull when spinning the prop they can be very sharp. If you can lock it the cable is bad, dont use a cheap cable for replacement. I like the morse 33c red jacket with solid strand stainless. Wound or twisted cables move easier but wont properly shift an outboard.
Hope its just a simple fix ! Good luck.
:)

everything was working fine, I split shifted out of the docks, had to wait for some nub-nut and when I pushed the shicks forward, nothing.. I went down at lunch and pulled the cover off and every thing there seems ok, bu t there is very little resistance on the shifter..:confused:

I have two possibilities. One os that the shift rod broke. That would cause the small amount of resistence. The other is (didn't you have the lowers off recently?) Check to make sure your shifter is not out aprox 180 degrees. It could have jumped up and over the top and be out of alignment. I would drop the lower unit down and try and manually turn the shifter splines and see if it will go in gear that way. Then put her back together and bolt it up.

Jon

maybe there is a dockline wraped around the prop, i've heard that can cause shifting trouble :D :D :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :p

BING DING DING WE HAVE A WINNER!!! AUDIOFN wins the prize with the shft rod..
glass dave: "DUDE, MY **** JUST SHUT OFF"
packinair:" maybe the dock line attached to your back cleat and props would cause that"
glassdave" DOH!! *&^*$%*%$*&_)(*&)(^*^%"
:rolleyes: