Mercury 150 gear problem?

Question

I have a Mercury 150 outboard that won't shift into gear. I took the throttle cables off and they move fine (forward and backward). Then I reconnected and I can only get the boat to go in gear in reverse. Forward is very difficult to even push and when it does it only throttles up - no power. What are some of the things it could be?

Answer 1

Before you take the lower unit apart check the cable adjustment. With the cables off you have to move the shifter and find the exact spot between forward and reverse. Then put on the shift cable adjusted to go on right there. Then put on the throttle cable with just a slight amount of pressure against the idle stop. Many times the shift problem is because the cables are adjusted wrong. If thats not it you have to go into the lower unit. It could be the shift dog on the end of the shift shaft, or the gears themselves.

Answer 2

First disconnect engine battery.Then disconnect throttle cable,and set aside.Disconnect shift cable and set aside.Move the shift lever at the engine to NEUTRAL,you may have to rotate the prop to find N.Then shift to FWD,again you may have to rotate prop by hand,clockwise or counterclockwise.If you have a good solid FWD,repeat for reverse.If all goes well? THEN go back and adjust the shift cable to match the engines shift leaver.Then connect throttle cable.Good Luck.

Answer 3

Could be a lot of things. Any gearcase noise when it's revving in forward? Racheting? How did the problem begin? What's the gearlube look like?



I was a marine tech for years, but would need more info to diagnose accurately.Most common would be dog clutch...a pretty in depth repair unless you're somewhat familar with the beasts.



Could also be as simple as cable adjustment, but that's unlikely assuming it was working in this installation.

Answer 4

just take it apart and see what's there. could be bearings, gears, thrust washers, maybe even the drive-shaft. bottom line is it's an internal problem so look closely and you'll find the culprit...or several. good luck.