1963 Mercury 500 question

[jpanside]

Hello folks this is my first post and I am sorry to trouble with this but I am lost.

1963 Mercury 500 Outboard

Can you tell me what this black lever does and what it is called? What is it's purpose? For some reason the engine will clunk to a halt once the gear is in drive and the black lever moves forward during this time. Currently the position of the black lever is at 45 when the gear is in neutral.

1. What is it? Some kind of clutch?
2. What is it's starting position when the gear is in neutral. 0, 45, or 90?
3. Do you know why the engine halts when this lever moves forward?
4. Anything else I need to know? Thank you so much.

 

[merc850]

Re: 1963 Mercury 500 question

That is a fast idle lever - to start the motor raise the lever to 90*, press and hold choke and turn key. Drop the lever down a bit to lower the rpm and when the engine is warm enough lower the lever all the way to horizontal. The stalling problem could be idle related or LU problems.
If the lever moves up when you push the throttle there is a problem with the control box, you can take it apart and grease it which it probably needs after 40+ years.

 

[jpanside]

Re: 1963 Mercury 500 question

thank you so much. I really appreciate this!

 

[jpanside]

Re: 1963 Mercury 500 question

New question! I am new to boating (but work on cars and motorcyles) so I have so many questions.

My impeller needed a replacement so I brought it to a shop for a replacement. I bought a new piece and inserted the impeller in
the casing but the fit was very tight and the fins bend quite a bit. The center fits perfectly but I feel like the fins are too big?
Could you tell me if this is normal or do I need to find another part? Thank you very much.

 

[merc850]

Re: 1963 Mercury 500 question

That's normal - but I think it will be easier to put the impeller on the driveshaft, grease the area that the impeller sits on, put the drive pin/key on the flat spot and slide the impeller onto the key. Then lower the housing over the impeller and turn the driveshaft clockwise while pushing cover over impeller. Putting dish detergent in the steel cup helps it slide in easily.
I hope you have new gaskets too; might as well fix the whole pump while it's apart.
When you reassemble it grease the shiftshaft and driveshaft splines, to make the next repair easy.

 

[jpanside]

Re: 1963 Mercury 500 question

thanks a bunch. And I have been greasing her like you suggested.

The story is that my engine started to overheat recently and when I took apart the water pump, the impeller fins were
completely gone. I hope that the impeller was the only issue but I fear the worst.

 

[FLATHEAD MAC]

Re: 1963 Mercury 500 question

You may also want to BLOW air BACK thru tell tale to insure all clear and no impeller pieces are blocking water flow

 

[jpanside]

Re: 1963 Mercury 500 question

good idea, will do.

umm so we just put the engine back together to test it, and it starts thankfully but it only starts when the gear is in drive. It will not start in neutral. Not sure what is going on, thinking about calling in an expert to see if he/she can fix it. any tips? she runs
and catches in drive but she will only crank in neutral. Cranks well but never catches in neutral.

 

[Mi duckdown]

Re: 1963 Mercury 500 question

YOU need to find the impellar fins that were missing. Hopefully they are in the copper tube. If not, there in the head.

 

[merc850]

Re: 1963 Mercury 500 question

Are you saying that when the control is in neutral the starting motor won't turn?
Inside the control box there is a neutral safety switch this might be out of adjustment, disassemble the control and see if it needs adjusting. It fits into a notch in the shift cam so that when control is in N it closes the contacts.

 

[jpanside]

Re: 1963 Mercury 500 question

sorry for late reply!

The starting motor actually works great. Starting motor runs, engine cranks, but the engine does not fire in neutral. Only when it is in gear does it catch. I will check the neutral safety switch like you suggest! Thank you.

 

[jpanside]

Re: 1963 Mercury 500 question

anyone have any ideas what is going on? please help! thank you!