Took Off with My Kicker Down

And I no longer have neutral or forward gears. When I start up the kicker it just starts heading in reverse even though it should be in neutral. It is a yamaha T9. Any thoughts on what damage I did?

-Drew

The easy answer would be to check the linkage connection in the cover of the motor. The second answer would be to pull the lower unit.

First answer is cheap, second answer…not so much.

you may have bent or broke the shift rod

Quote:

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The easy answer would be to check the linkage connection in the cover of the motor. The second answer would be to pull the lower unit.

First answer is cheap, second answer…not so much.

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I was hoping that this was a common enough occurrence that somebody would have had the exact same experience. I can take it in, but wanted the experience of fixing it myself. Might have to rethink that approach…

If the shift rod is broken in the lower end, it’s not impossible to fix yourself. In fact if you are handy with a wrench it’s fairly easy. Heck there might even be YouTube videos on how to take your lower end apart (more importantly back together!).

If you don’t have time, or don’t know which end of a left handed crescent wrench to use, see your local marine repair center.

is it still under warrenty? i have forgot mine in the down position a few different times, the only thing that has happened to me is it started up as it was in forward and the prop turned and it started up. no big deal, just hit the kill switch and trimed it up and went on my way.

Is it a tiller or remote. If its a tiller, the bolt may have come out that holds the shift cable to the base of the motor pan. If its a remote there are a few more things to check. I’m pretty sure you didn’t break your shift rod. Something else has come undone, should be an easy fix. Feel free to call us at 715-833-0060

Thanks for the info Sean!

I took a peak inside there, but it is pretty crowded. Looks like I will have to take a couple things off to get a better look. It is, in fact, a tiller. The shift lever won’t event go into the reverse position. I guess this makes sense since it is stuck in reverse. The shift rod appeared to be intact. The shift rod appears to be connected to a bar (sorry not sure of the technical name). That bar rotates towards and away from the front of the engine as I move the shift lever. When I go to push the lever into reverse, it seems to be raising the front of the engine assembly (again sorry for the lack of technical names). However, when I put it in neutral and forward, this there is no raising or lowering. Does that narrow things down any?

Just check where the shift cable goes through the the front of the pan and see if it moves back and forth right there. There is a bracket holding the shift cable where it goes through and they have fallen out before and the you end up with the motor not shifting.