1962 Merc 700 70hp shifting problem

Porto

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Jul 9, 2004
Messages
88
Hello, Here is what happened: I pulled up to the dock last night and put the motor in reverse, which is hard to do some times. When I put it back in forward it stuck there, not going into neutral or reverse. I had to turn off the motor and get onto the bow of the boat to keep it from becoming a "dockbuster". I unhooked the shifter cable and tried to shift manually but it wouldn't move. I was able to restart the motor in forward if I held the shifter in the neutral position. After a few minutes I got it to go into neutral and reverse. I read through the old posts and it sounded like this was a common problem for people who had recently pulled their lower unit but I haven't done anything to the motor. What does this sound like to you guys?
 

heybaylor

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jan 17, 2005
Messages
187
Re: 1962 Merc 700 70hp shifting problem

broken/cracked shifter cam..<br />lower unit needs to come apart to inspect
 

Porto

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Jul 9, 2004
Messages
88
Re: 1962 Merc 700 70hp shifting problem

Is the shifter cam located in the lower unit housing or is it where the lower unit meets the motor leg? I bought the mercury repair manual for motors proir to 1965 and it shows exploded views of every lower unit except mine. I noticed some had a shifter cam in the lower unit housing and some didn't.<br />Could something else be causing my problem? I would hate to buy the special tool(s)required to take the lower unit apart to find it wasn't the problem. Thanks.
 

gwmark78

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Aug 31, 2004
Messages
77
Re: 1962 Merc 700 70hp shifting problem

Shifter cam is in lower unit housing but is visable when split. You could also have a worn sliding clutch-as the dogs wear down it can get tougher to shift. But as heybaylor said-needs to come apart.
 
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