Shifter on boat

[gofishingtom]

have a 1998 175 EFI merc and last time out the shifter had no problem going into forward but when i go back to neutral and then to reverse it seems to sometimes want to go right from forward to reverse and miss neutral and when i get to neutral it is a hard pull to reverse..Any help would be appreciated or ideas,adjustments or is my shfter going out..any ideas on what it might cost to replace kinda like a ball park..

[Sandmannd]

Not sure what the price would be. I have gone to Hannay's marine to get an ignition and it wasn't that hard to put in. I would assume you could find this part and do it yourself. If you don't need the wiring and all it shouldn't be overly expensive.

[boatfixer]

Do you remember what your idle speed is? high idle can make shifting difficult. Or yes, it might just be out of adjustment.

[gofishingtom]

i first noticed it when i was coming into dock as you drop down to dock your boat and you put into reverse to slow down then back to forward to get to dock...just seemed like at times it would want to go from forward and skip neutral and right to reverse..and at times when i want reverse from neutral it seems harder to shift it to reverse..

[still floats guy]

Shift rod issues? If you have had the lower unit off recently you may have need a shift rod adjustment before it gets any worse.

I just lost a lower unit to a very similar sounding problem.

[marine_man]

If you shift it to forward, let go of the plastic lock / detent lever on the bottom of the handle that you squeeze, and then slowly move it back into neutral does it stop you at neutral, or does it move right past?

marine_man

[gofishingtom]

marine_man i'm up at lake now and will be going out in the morning will report back when i get in..last time out it worked fine all the time accept once when i was coming into the lift where i wanted to slow down go to neutral then reverse and back to forward..seemed to shift hard but will check in the morning and try without holding in lock..have been told to shift to forward and if i can get behind shifter to grease cables and also grease back by motor as could help this problem..

[marine_man]

That'll help, but might not fully fix the problem. What are you idling at, in neutral and in gear?

marine_man

[gofishingtom]

marine_man... hope the problem is idle i'm idling at about 950 according to my tach which could be off alittle..so i'm hoping that that is the problem only thing is there is no adjustment on the motor its electronicly done i believe so i am going to have to take it in to get done as i'm not going to take on that task!! as for when i had the top off i noticed above the water seperater a brass fitting with a hose attached to it assuming part of the fuel system and it has a nozzle pointing down that looks like a small hose should be attached but no hose so im guessing its a overflow well its dripping when i was idling my motor not alot but enough to notice a small puddle..any idea why the overflow is dripping(it's a gas oil mixture) there must be a bad something in there to have it drip like that so wil have to get that looked at also..but if you have any ideas please let me know..Thanks for all the advice!!!

[marine_man]

Idling in gear should be 800 or pretty close to that, so it does sound like you're idling a bit high. I don't have any idea why it's dripping... sorry!

marine_man

[BoxMN]

Another thought is that your shift cable has a "bubble" in it, meaning it is wearing out in a tight corner area and has a bend. Just be careful, cause if it is that it will break soon and you will be stuck in whatever gear you are in. We had that on our 150efi, and I should have changed throttle cable as well,... and don't you know, 2 weeks later I am changing the throttle cable Easy to do your self, hardest thing is stringing the cable - when you pull it out tape a rope to it to help pull the new one back in.

Not sure, but another thing to check. Especially check right at fornt of motor where cabels come out of motor cowling. If you feel any bump in the cable at all, replace them.

good luck!