Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

2005 Mercury 115 4 stroke. Having a hard time finding info on this particular procedure on this motor. Trans was in N when I took it off. Put it back together and the shifter won't move. After I got home (boat is 20 miles away) I realised that I didn't have the key in the ignition. I don't remember if I could shift gears without the key or not. I read somewhere after the fact that the motor should be in F before the LU is removed, is that so? Is the transmission on this motor actuated by the spline moving up and down or L to R? I did put a pair of vice grips on it and it did pull up. But only felt like there were two positions there, not three. I didn't try turning the shaft but I understand that it should only be turned CCW. Any suggestions? Also as I was putting the LU back in what appears to be gear oil was leaking pretty bad from the motor end of the shift shaft. Couldn't tell 100% it was gear oil as I just changed all of my fluids and they look a lot alike when they are clean. Didn't know if I had busted a seal or what but it was a lot worse with the motor trimmed up and quit leaking when I put the motor back down.

The shift rod is misaligned. Pull the lower unit. Make sure that the shifter AND the lower unit is in forward gear and stays that way when you slide the lower unit back into place. Ensure that the shift rod goes in place as you slide it up.

Thanks!