Lower Unit Shifter caput!

My motor is a 90HP Yamaha. There is a part in the lower unit called a shifter.
It's a small cylindrical part with a cam attached which shifts the motor into forward or reverse. The shifter attaches to the prop shaft by clipping on one end. The clip end of the shifter has a bad habit of braking off. The part is not that expensive but it's a pain in the &%* to have to tear down the LU every time to fix it. I called Yamaha to see if the part has been replaced by an updated one and they told me the same part has been used on Yamaha motors sine at least 1988. I thought maybe something else was putting undo stress onn the part while shifting but everything else on the shaft and the LU look fine.

Am I doing something wrong here?? When I put the boat into gear, I am not slamming the controls or grinding the gears. Any ideas or recommendations would be appreciated.

Attached photo shows the offending part.

http://www.medawebs.com/shifter.gif

Thanks,

Bill

Do you put the boat in gear by forcefully engaging it or by slowly engaging it. Are you putting in forward or reverse while prop is still spinning the opposite direction?

It shifts pretty easy so there is really no need to force it in to gear. I usually pause before shifting into the opposite direction. This ones got me baffled.