Lower unit not shifting

[Dale Nelson]

I helped a friend change her impeller on a 2006 Yamaha 115 4 stroke , the lower unit was removed in forward gear, everything went as expected. After re-installing the lower unit it will not shift out of forward, we lowered the unit and made sure it was aligned properly. Still won’t shift, she remover the lower unit again and can’t seem to get it to shift manually- and yes she was turning the driveshaft by hand while trying to shift.

I’m at a loss at this point

[smilemaker]

To the best of my knowledge  I always  change impeller in neutral.

More experts better than me on here.

[mulligan]

Does it move freely with the lower unit off?  It could be that the gear selector in the lower got turned and does not match with the throttle, one it forward one in neutral or the like.  It is easy to find neutral in both shift and lower then reassemble.

21 minutes ago, smilemaker said:

To the best of my knowledge  I always  change impeller in neutral.

I've done it both ways but mostly in neutral.  When you do it in gear you are able to spin the prop to align the splines on the shaft but you can also run into the issue that Dale has, ask me how I know.  

[Dale Nelson]

Update. I have not been there during any of the work that has been done after the reinstall. The lower unit will shift out of the motor- the prop is hard to turn , not sure why. The lower unit will not shift once placed back into the motor- even with the shift cable removed. She is taking it in to be looked at.

[mulligan]

The prop could be hard to turn due to the new impeller.  You/she can put the lower unit in neutral by turning the shift link on the lower.