I went out Saturday to run the boat. And making sure everything is working fine for the beginning of the year. As i was working around the doc I took it out of reverse and went to forward and it still moved backwards. After I got to a safe place with my other two motors I got in the hatch and had my wife shift with the motor running and it moved both linkages at the motor. But the drive never came out of reverse. So i just took the cable off that goes to the drive. It moves smoothly and stops at a normal looking range. But i did this by hand and motor not running. So I’m thinking that the cable is not broke. But the drive came off the linkage inside the upper drive where the fork is. So can i just take the top and back cover off or will the drive need to be removed to see..... 2000 baja 442 with triple 502 bravo1..... and yes i was at idol rpm when shifting and there was no previous problems that i have had with it. It has 365 hrs and I just changed the drive oil and it was clean and full when drained and it was filled properly and is still full thanks for the help and if you need more info ask thanks

Ok so I removed the upper and rear cover on the top of the drive. And it was still in the reverse location. I was able to push it in neutral and in to forward and back. It did not move my cable inside the boat but if i put the drive in forward and push the cable it will push it out of forward and into reverse. But when I pull it back it stays in reverse. So am i correct that it came out of the jaws and will have to remove the drive and reinstall the cable. And is there enough room to do so without having to remove or replace anything else to reinstall the cable into the jaws. Thanks for the help

This is what I think has came apart

maybe lower shift cable broke.......happened to me and almost hit the dock.....

You should be a able to disconnect the trim rams and the 6 nuts (maybe disconnect the speedo tube if applicable) and slide the drive back just far enough to see the end of the cable and the jaws, that will tell you everything. Do not put the cover back on tho until you verify that the jaws are out far enough to get the cable back in. But chances are if the drive wasn’t removed prior to this happening, the lower cable is broke.

This may or may not be relevant, but the color of the shift yoke gives me concern. Have never seen one that dark in color, most are shinny metal

I had this happen to me as well. Clasp got bent, and cable no longer gets captured. Probably from shifting while not running. Was pretty easy to replace. At least mine got stuck in forward. Would have sucked to make that 25mi trek upriver in reverse.

Thank for all the info and help i hope to get to work on it tomorrow

Thanks for the help... I pulled the drive off and the cable was still there and straight. I cleaned everything up and regreased everything...it appears that the metal latch(the small clip that locks the cable in the jaw) is worn enough(the tab that goes down in the slot) that it allowed it to slip out.(because it won’t lean sideways) I have a new one on the way... I did put everything back together to try and make sure everything is good.... and see if it will last till the end of the season.