Back to this community for yet another request for advice.

[Northbeach]

I am in the process of overhauling a 1985 Evinrude 8hp 2 cycle outboard: water pump, carburetor rebuild, ignition modules, spark plugs, and replacing the lower unit lubricating oil. This is my first time going through an outboard; I have the basic mechanical concepts down but I don’t do much work with machinery. I am in the process of putting the outboard back together. The lower has two shafts; the drive shaft connecting the crankshaft with the propeller, and the shifting lever. Now that I have it back together the engine is locked in forward gear. I can turn the flywheel and the propeller moves correctly, but I can’t shift it out of forward into neutral or reverse. While it was going together I checked and it shifted in and out of gear and the prop was connected to the flywheel. Now that it is together and torqued, the shifting lever will not budge. Anybody out there have any advice for me?

Thank you in advance for your time and expertise!

[jgeissinger]

It could be (hopefully) something as simple as the throttle position. These motors have a stop made so that you can't shift into or out of neutral at anything above a high idle. If it is stopped in gear with the throttle open more than that, it can be very difficult to get back to neutral, since you probably can't move the throttle or the shifter. This stop is to the left (facing the motor from the front) and just below the flywheel. It's a piece of stamped metal with a plastic cam by it. You may be able to move it by hand or just bend it out of the way. I have several of these motors and have permanently bent this plate out of the way with no ill effects.
I hope that's the problem. Otherwise it is something in the lower leg. The shift rod mechanism can be tricky to assemble. Follow you manual's advice carefully. Personally unless I know I have to replace a water pump impeller or repair something that actually broke, I try not to disassemble the lower leg at all. You can do the limited amount of maintenance these motors need without touching it.

[Northbeach]

Thanks for the tip. I will look this over closely again. The throttle seems to move throughout its full range. Throttle moves, prop spins when I move the flywheel, shifting lever is going nowhere!