Shift Shaft turns hard

[Lil Big Boy]

I have a 1979 Mercury 40HP and recently I had trouble with the F/R. I was running upriver and when I went to throttle back the shifter would not pull back into neutral or even go into reverse. I've disconnected the linkages and they move freely. I tried to turn the cam under the carb and that would not move, so I dropped the lower unit and discovered that the shift shaft does not move very easily, and I still could not get the prop to engage in reverse with the LU off. What could I be looking at here cost wise to have it repaired. I'm not sure if it's worth buying the tools to remove the shift shaft? If anybody can stear me in a cost effective direction I would appretiate it.

 

[info404]

Re: Shift Shaft turns hard

hello, I'm not an expert, but from my trial and error i first refer to the trouble shooting part of my manual. if you don't have one, check this site,(i-boats) for the parts list, they usually have a blow up with description schematic. that should give you the estimated cost, or at least the part thats defective. i hope this sends you in the right direction until one of the pros get back to you