1998 150 HP Mercury 2 stroke stuck in forward

[pjdarabaris98]

Today I changed the water pump impeller on my 150 hp Mercury. I put the engine in forward before I dropped the lower unit. After having a heck of a time getting the lower unit back in, I started the engine but it would only spin in forward and would not go into neutral or reverse. How do I fix this?

[acesover]

It will help you to receive faster, and more accurate responses if you will post your questions in the appropriate forum:

Mercury Motors (this forum)
TWO STROKE models (Less than 135 hp).

Mercury - 2.0/ 2.4/ 2.5 Liter High Performance
For discussions related to 2.0/ 2.4/ 2.5L Two Stroke motors (Carb, EFI, Optimax or Racing).

Mercury - 3 Liter & 3 Liter High Performance
For discussions related to 3L Two Stroke motors (XS, ProXS Optimax, EFI, or Racing)

Mercury - 4 Stroke / Verado
For discussions related to ALL Mercury 4 Stroke Engines.

For fastest/most-accurate assistance, please choose the correct forum.

Thanks!

[EuropeanAM]

Moving post to the correct (2.5L) forum.

If you would, please take a moment to review the Announcements at the top of the Forum, and be sure to provide the Required Info (serial number) when posting. Thanks!

Try placing control AND gearcase in NEUTRAL. This is a much more precise position and easier to get right.