What's wrong with my 1978 omc 800 outdrive . it will not shift out of reverse?

Question

cables have been adjusted. the two major leads to what could have went awry...1) the two arms that hold the cable tension on the shift box were not attatched with springs, my fault. forgot...2 we were cruising in a local lake and about 120 yards off shore ran into a mud hill about 2 ft underwater and stalled us...could that have caused problems in the shifting...it worked fine after that event for over an hour more on the lake....the assist cylinder seems hard to move...cracked into lower drive to check shifter cable down in the lower drive area....do i have to remove the prop and gears to check if some gear is either broken or is the shift rod down there i do see a rod below the shift mechanism.........lost?

Answer 1

It's been nearly 15 years since I last worked on a cable shift 800 drive.  But inside the boat, where the "shift cable" comes  up and attaches to the helm cable at the shift assembly, remove the lower unit shift cable.  Then  WITH THE ENGINE OFF see if the prop turns freely.  If not, try pulling on the shortest cable while your helper jiggles the prop.  If it will not slip out of reverse, there is a problem with the clutch dog or the shift mech., usually the dog.  I think this is a repair left to a mechanic trained in 800's.  They run great and have fewer problems than some of the other drives.  But they have to be assembled carefully.  I hope this helps!!!

Answer 2

You have either broken a shift cable or done some damage to your shift mechanism in the drive.The first thing you should check is your shift cable from your control box.To do this,you

will need to unhook it at the back where it hooks up to the shift

control mechanism.With it unhooked shift the control box handle to see if it moves in and out easy.If this works next try and shift the control mechanism to see if your drive will go in and out of gear.If not you have a cable problem.Good luck.