Re: Stays in gear when neutral knob activated
I had to re-read that a couple of times. At first it sounds like you have more than one problem. But upon re-reading, it appears that you are not writing about the shift disable knob but the control lever. Anyway:Here's a couple of areas to check. Read the whole reply first before checking anything then start with the simplest procedure.
First, those engines have a lower unit with no drain and silt tends to collect around the shift rod over years of use. Eventually it accumulates to the point where it will cause erratic shifting and sometimes will keep the engine in gear. The cure is to drop the lower unit and in the forward part where the silt collects, clean out the cavity all the way down to the shift rod seal. with the shift cable disconnected, you should be able to move the shift lever on the engine easily. it should move smootly and without a lot of effort.
If the shift rod is binding, it will stop the control lever from moving--thus you get very little throttle response, and since it is not all the way into gear, it will sometimes pop out even under light loads.
Secondly, the silver knob is a shift disable so the engine can be put into a slightly faster starting setting without the lower unit shifting. If you look closely, you will see this knob turns when you shift the engine with the control lever. There are two sector gears inside the control and the silver knob is connected to the shaft that the shift sector gear rides upon.
Pulling the knob out slides the shaft to a portion that is not connected to the sector gear and the engine will then not shift no matter how far you move the control lever. You should be able to pull out the knob about 1/4 to 3/8 inch. you should also feel the detent ball engage when the knob is fully out.
All this explanation---It is possible to pull out the knob partially and the shift will not be disabled. Since the knob and shaft are connected to the shift lever behind the control, any interference there will cause you to not fully engage the shift disable function. Then, you think you have disabled the shift, but in reality, you have not.
Note that on the engine linkage tower and shift lever (on the right hand side of the engine facing forward---starboard) there is an interlock which keeps you from pushing the control handle too far forward while the engine is in neutral. You need to check the adjustment of this linkage since if it does not clear the interlock, you will not be able to push the control handle far enough forward to shift properly or accelerate the engine. This could be due to mal-adjusted cable, worn cable, worn control box, or even improperly adjusted shift rods.