1999 Mercury 125Elpto gearing problem

[Jcollum]

Hey Guys,
I am very new to having a boat and it has been a struggle. I thought we had everything ready and taken care of only to find another problem. The prop will turn by hand and it clicks, also, it will not turn the other way. It is the same and turns the same direction regardless whether it is in neutral, forward, or reverse. Also, when we had it started, the prop is spinning like it is in gear. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[racerone]

Likely the lower unit was off for water pump work and it was not re-assembled correctly.------Start by taking the lower unit off again.----Look on this site for a tutorial on how to correct this issue.

 

[Chris1956]

That behavior would imply that the motor is always in forward. As Racer says, it sounds like the upper and lower shift rods were not synched properly.

 

[Jcollum]

Thank you guys. The shift shaft was a quarter turn out of whack. I dropped the lower unit enough to disengage the shift shaft and made the adjustment and bolted it back on. I appreciate the guidance!