# Mercury 15 hp outboard won't shift into forward



## JasonL (May 17, 2011)

Hey Guys,

I'm hoping someone can lend some advice. I have a 15hp Mercury (Gamefisher) outboard and it's been running great until last Saturday. i was fishing in the Escambia river with the motor off and using only the trolling motor. I wanted to move, so I started up the outboard and tried to put it into forward from neutral and nothing happened. Usually there is a little kick and it starts moving forward, but if I press the shifter knob to the right to FWD, it just keeps idling in neutral.

Any suggestions would help as I've been trying to do my own motor work to learn. I've attached a picture of the outboard if that helps.


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

Do you have reverse? Have you looked at/for the shifter rod to see if its moving?


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## JasonL (May 17, 2011)

kanaka said:


> Do you have reverse? Have you looked at/for the shifter rod to see if its moving?


Yes, I do have reverse and when i push the shifter rod it does seem to move the linkage under the cover just as it did before. Also, I had been running around in it all day without an issue. It just happened all of a sudden without and warning.

I'm trying to read up on potential causes. Many mention a dog clutch as their problem, but they say that it would slowly happen over time, so I'm not sure if that could be my issue.


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

This is a shot in the dark. Owned a 02 20 hp Merc. The shift rod that was going down to the foot had a washer on it that you could barely see in the opening between the cowling and the start of the lower. It was held in place by a "flat" that was stamped on the shift rod. Without it you loose a direction.
Maybe it wore and slipped?


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## JasonL (May 17, 2011)

kanaka said:


> This is a shot in the dark. Owned a 02 20 hp Merc. The shift rod that was going down to the foot had a washer on it that you could barely see in the opening between the cowling and the start of the lower. It was held in place by a "flat" that was stamped on the shift rod. Without it you loose a direction.
> Maybe it wore and slipped?


Thanks for the idea. I will see if I can find that washer and see if it fixes the problem. I'll report back here with any findings.


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