93 200 Mercury Shifting Hard

[tracman86]

I have a 1993 200 horse merc. I just went through putting a new lower unit on it. Had 3 teeth missing off the forward gear. Did not hit anything to cause this damage. I have noticed when shifting into gear it makes a loud thunk. I am wondering if that could have made the old one go out. If so what would cause this to be shifting hard and what do I need to do to fix it.

[fishinwrench]

"New" as in NEW, or new as in "reman"?

What is your idle speed RPM in neutral?

A 1993 200 might be equipped with a shift-assist switch, if so it needs to be tested.

Why the complete new lower vs. A fresh gearset in the original gearcase?

The mechanical (within the gearcase) causes for a hard shift are; improper shimming/backlash, bent or twisted shift rod, damaged shift cam, bearing carrier not fully seated, water in the gearcase.

[tracman86]

The unit on the boat now is a used one. I got it from a guy I work with that was parting a blown motor out. He charged 400 for the unit vs 1500 to have a new gearset put in the old one. The boat seems to shift the same with this unit in as it did with the last one. The motor idles just above a grand.

[fishinwrench]

Just above 1000 in the water, or on muffs?

[merc1997 Bo]

your idle is too fast to begin with. that will make it hit hard going into gear. also, you have to have a balance between going into forward and reverse. you need a bit more pressure going into forward than reverse. this is done with where your shifting cable is set under you cowling. disconnect the shift cable out of the lock down holder. leave shifter in nuetral. manually shift into neutral on motor. roll the brass barrel back to match the hole in lock down. go past a couple of rounds to give it just a tad more pressure in th forward position. if you are unsure of how to do it, take it to a GOOD mechanic. being out of adjustment can cause premature wear and damage to your gears.

bo