Re: evinrude 25hp 1975 shifting problem
HI made. You should be able to lift up and push down on the lower shift rod by hand. I usually have to use a pair of needle nose to grab it through the little oval window, however. By tugging up on the lower shift rod you will put the motor into FWD. You can test it by first disconnecting the spark plug wires for safety, then spinning the prop clockwise by hand until you feel it catch. There's usually about 1/8-1/4 turn of play. You can further check by removing the spark plugs all together and rotating the flywheel clockwise by hand. You should see the prop to spin clockwise as well, thus indicating that you are in FWD. You can check REV the same way. Push down on the lower shift rod to put the LU into Rev. Again, rotate the flywheel clockwise by hand with the plugs removed. You should now see the prop spin counter clockwise, thus indicating REV. NEU it at a sweet spot between the two positions. You should be able to spin the prop freely in either direction when in Neu and spinning the flywheel clockwise by hand should not rotate the prop at all. TO join the upper and lower shift rod, I usually flip the gear select lever into FWD then tug up on the lower shift rod with a pair of needle nose. I then lower the shift rod coupler onto the lower shift rod by flipping the gear select lever to REV. The coupler should drop onto the top of the lower shift rod. Once the bevel in the rod is aligned, insert the lower bolt of the coupler and check the gear shifting using the same method.
