1980 50HP Mercury outboard not locking to lock pin

[Canthor]

My motor is not locking when I lower the motor or put it in gear, it actually jumps up when I am in reverse. the two locking clips are not lining up with the tilt lock pin. What can I do?

[jake505]

yea I had this problem to turn out that the shaft that pulls the hooks down had rust and i had to beat them loose with a hammer. if yours isn't rusted to bad it maybe the cam that locks it down maybe bad. try putting the engine in reverse out of the water and seeing if the hooks move down at all if not see if you can pull them down could be its just frozen up

[Canthor]

Thanks for the advice. I adjusted the two nuts and got it locking properly