1992 3Cyl 75HP Lower unit won't shift - stuck in forward

[MattinTally]

Bought a 75hp motor w/ low compression to use for parts (need LU, trim motor, relays, and midsection). Took the foot off the 92' 75hp and was attempting to put it on my 88 90hp 3 Cyl (Serial B374250). Cranked motor and it fired right up, but was in Fwd and damn near knocked my stand over. Definitely took me by surprise. So, I dropped the LU and put back in my workbench stand. With the prop Facing Me, I turned the shift staft and then spun the drive shaft by hand. The prop turned forward/clockwise. Turned the shift shaft 180 degrees the other way, to its limit, and the prop still turned forward/clockwise. I ever spun the drive shaft in the other direction, which did turn the prop in the opposite direction. I tried several positions of the shift shaft and turned the drive shaft both ways and nothing seemed to work. I was turning shift shaft by hand, using the cylindrical coupler that sits on top of a washer/spacer. What am I doing wrong. I hope I'm just being an idiot and that I haven't purchased a bad LU.

 

[MattinTally]

Re: 1992 3Cyl 75HP Lower unit won't shift - stuck in forward

A mechanic friend of mine helped me with my problem. Issue was gearcase was not in nuetral when i reinstalled it to the mid section. Tool LU back off the midsection and placed back on the bench stand. Using a cloth wrapped around the shift rod, which I spun all the way clockwise until it stopped moving freely, I took a pair of channel lock pliers and firmly (but gently) twisted the shift rod a little. This shifted the unit to either Fwd or Rev (cant remember). I twisted a little more and check the spin of the prop and it was in N. No that the LU was in N, I reinstalled and remote controls worked fine.