Not to be a wise guy, but earlier motors had an interlock, built into the operator’s mind. Back then, it was called common sense. Over the years, the government has mandated so many safety devices to protect us from ourselves, that common sense is becoming a thing of the past.
Back to the original post: When you shift the engine, you should clearly feel three distinct positions: forward, neutral and reverse. If you cannot clearly feel these positions, there may be something mechanically wrong….Maybe a shift bushing has become too tight from corrosion, either at the shift handle itself, or in the lower unit…..or maybe the stiff spring arm that rides against the shift shaft in the lower unit, dropping into three detents in the shaft itself, is missing or not functioning properly.
Long live American manufacturing!
