2001 sx dp-s hard to find neutral

hey so i have this boat with a 5.0 gxi and just this year i am having alot of trouble getting neutral when docking when i say hard, i mean , v/p are usually the smoothest shifting o/d's ive used and this one is shifting like an alpha with the grounding switch disconnected. i had the drive off last winter to repair a leaking cap dipstick threads. the repair went well but now as i say i have this problem, may be unrelated but wanted to see if anyone can give me some ideas on what to look for besides the obvious. i am pulling the boat today and disconnecting the linkage at the drive, i will see how it feels disconnected then i will readjust the linkage nut and reassess.
ill report back my findings later.

Take off the shroud and disconnect the linkage. Try moving the shift mechanism by hand, Neutral should be a solid stop between forward and reverse. Put shifter in the neutral position and re-adjust the linkage to fit the drives neutral setting. Hopefully that helps.

ok, back from adjusting, no good. everything is lined up as it should be and yes, neutral is definitely defined. i even went as far as disconnecting the linkage and hanging off the back of the boat (running) and shifting the drive manually. now i assume there should be some resistance but it just wanted to go right past neutral into the opposite gear. im assuming the box and drive work in unison to prevent this. but i am uncertain as to were to go from here. with the drive disconnected the shifter still has resistance and a couple time early on, when testing, non running, it would bind up going from fwd to neutral.
im leaning towards a bad shifter box but looking for others with similar issue.

as i said earlier, it feels like a mercruiser alpha drive going into neutral with a bad or disconnected shunt switch.

When you operate the shift mechanism by hand, does it shift smoothly in both directions? Is there a clear detent in neutral, or is it vague? If it's vague the shift mechanism spring may be failed or stuck. I once had difficulty shifting out of gear into neutral and replaced the mechanism housing that had improved ramp angles for getting in and out of gear.

I had a similar problem, which was solved by a new shift cable. Over time I had not realized it was getting stiffer and could not feel the neutral dent.
Three seasons later I also changed out the selector housing as it had started weeping a little oil. Inspection of the dents made me decide to also change out the housing too.

Horigan said:

When you operate the shift mechanism by hand, does it shift smoothly in both directions? Is there a clear detent in neutral, or is it vague? If it's vague the shift mechanism spring may be failed or stuck. I once had difficulty shifting out of gear into neutral and replaced the mechanism housing that had improved ramp angles for getting in and out of gear.

View attachment 416140

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when shifting by hand with the engine not running is definitely defined
but when i do it running, it wants to jump right past neutral

Hmmm. If it were me I'd confirm the fluid is fresh with Volvo fluid, then change the shift housing. It could end up being a clutch cone issue...

well i replaced the cable and it felt great on land but once in the water, the drive bangs into drive and is slightly better going into reverse but still bangs. going into neutral is a struggle, its like shifting a mercruiser into neutral with the shift shunt switch disconnected. the old cable was adjusted all the way at the and of the threads so it was definetely stretched. the new one has the threaded nut sitting about midway on the threads.
i have reset the IAC to lower the idle speed, it is now perfect @ 600-625. this made shifting a bit easier but still the banging.
i pulled the shift cam and it is perfect, nice high ridges on the mechanism, the spring is fine.
do i bite the bullet and replace the shift box? could there be anything else in the drive beside the shift mechanism that could be causing this issue?