1999 25hp gear select problems!

[speedy1]

Hi,
I've got a little problem with my 25HP. The selection of forward and reverse gears is an issue. I can select reverse no problem; however when I move from reverse to the neutral position on the selector, the motor stays in natural. Also forward only engines when I move the selector to the very end of forward position. I can get the motor to return to neutral by slowly pushing the selector towards the centre position from the forward position. The motor has had this problem for the past 6 months, but starting to think I should get around to fixing it. A friend thinks it could be a lower end problem (the dog). Can anyone help with advice or diagrams; I'm not too bad on the tools once I have an idea what to do.

Thanks..

[jb123]

thought someone would have gotten back to you by now... IS your motor remote or no, if it is, disconnect cables and engage manually to see where the issue lies. if it is not, inspect linkage to ensure no play. non remote and solid linkage , the lower unit would probably be the culprit.