Thread: Installed new impeller and now it won't stay in neutral

I've had Merc almost my whole life but have had the same issue after replacing impeller (do it every 2 years). Had to drop the lower unit again and shift the lever in neutral and make sure the lower unit was as well(it wasn't) used a small pair of vice grips to shift it back neutral and back on the water! I use bungy cords to hold lower unit together while it's being unbolted and put it in a old milk crate to adjust it. Good luck

I think I can help with this as long as your motor has a small screen on the lower portion of the leg. This screen should come off with the removal of a screw that passes through and holds two halves together. Once removed it exposes a plastic ferrule that is a "keeper" holding the top and bottom portions of the shift linkage together. The keeper has to be removed to go any further. After removing it you can then remove the bolts that allow you to separate the upper and lower portions thus exposing the water pump. You can actually remove those bolts first, but the ferrule will prevent the top and bottom from seperating. It is here that your friend may have accidentally pushed the rod going to the gearcase in F or R while the shift lever (on the side of the engine) remained in N...or vice versa. It is also possible the gearcase remained in N but the shift lever was moved to F or R. I try to be sure that both the shift lever and the gearcase both stay in N throughout the entire operation. At any rate, it is essential when everything goes back together that both the top and bottom are in sync so to speak. I've also had problems even though I made sure to get the linkage correct, and that came when pulling the casing back together with the 4 bolts (some may actually use 5 bolts). There is also the possibility that all you have is simply a shift linkage adjustment problem. This is normally an external adjustment (from the top), but unless it was giving you problems beforehand or your friend mistakenly tried to adjust it (or wasn't sure how everything came apart and messed with it), I doubt if that is the problem. These older Evinrudes (and Johnsons) did not want to shift into gear easily until they were running. Does yours do this? Does it feel like it goes fully into gear? If not then it may be the linkage adjustment I mentioned. This would probably apply even if your motor is not the model that I described at the beginning-the one with the screen covering the ferrule. If you can not get it into gear when it is not running then try forcing it while turning the prop with your foot (engine not running, of course). I think it is at Marine Engine.com that you can find a video of how to do this...or try youtube videos. Hope this helps.

I opened the little cover and can see the linkage And it looks like there are bolts that tighten down on the shafts and when I move the shifter it moves over and hits the far side of the casing is that normal. So if I get this right I need to shift the lower unit in neutral and put the lincage at the top in neutral position then tighten up the lincage it should be ok ? I have not found a YouTube to show me what I need to do

It has been a while since I actually had one of these apart, but you are on the right track. If memory serves me correctly, you will not be able to just remove the ferrule and then shift both the gear case and the shifter into N. You will probably have to separate the upper portion of the leg from the lower, but maybe not. That is where you have to remove the bolts at the cavitation plate. What puzzles me is that the shift shaft moves far enough to hit the case. It is supposed to pass through the impeller housing which should prevent this from happening (much like a guide bearing). I think you will probably have to take it all apart to see what is actually happening. Don't be afraid to do this. I was the first time and had mine apart 3 times before I got it right. If you go back to you tube and enter something like "changing a waterpump on a Johnson/Evinrude outboard" you should get some results. It can get frustrating looking for your exact setup, so you might also google something similar and see what you can find. Maybe someone else watching this thread (like a real mechanic) will weigh in with an opinion. Oh, I about forgot...
above the waterpump is a tube going up into the top part of the leg. Make sure this is oriented correctly, too, or it won't pee. You'll see where it fits at the very top, and there is an O-ring at the bottom, too.