mercruiser shift cable problem

[torpedoman]

i have a mercruiser 260 w/ alpha outdrive.

while at the lake last week, we were out in the boat & while cruising in forward gear, all of a sudden there was a sound in the drive & the boat went into neutral & would not shift into forward or reverse. basically stuck in neutral.
motor is new & drive was redone last season. shift cable is original i believe.

we checked the shift cable at the throttle control & it is attached & fine.
i am wanting to examine the shift cable at the drive end, but problem is, i see in forums that to take of the lower unit, the drive has to be in forward gear. my drive is stuck in neutral.
how do i get the lower unit off? i know to take off trim rams & 6 bolts on lower unit.
does the throttle lever just have to be forward or does it actually have to be in forward gear? if the latter, how do i get it in gear?

also, any suggestions as to what the problem could be. sounds like shift cable to me, but when i feel the cable going into drive & we move the shift lever, i can hear clicking sound in drive which tells me that the shift cable is not broken.
just not sure what drive end of cable mounts to because i cant see it. think there is a problem there.

help anyone??

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: mercruiser shift cable problem

Your cable connects to this slide and moves the shaft that turns the shoes.You could manually move it using a screwdriver or similiar tool to get the shoes straight.

 

[torpedoman]

Re: mercruiser shift cable problem

not sure what shoes are? how are they to be aligned?

so i would take off rams, remove 6 nuts, then pull off drive & use screwdriver then?
not sure what procedure would be.