2003 Mercury 40hp Outboard - Stuck in Gear

nathan_r

Recruit
Joined
Feb 7, 2012
Messages
1
Hello,

I recently swapped a 2003 40hp Mercury outboard for a 1994 75hp Mercury outboard on my Bass Tracker fishing boat. The local marine shop that completed the job put the 2003 40hp on the older boat that I'd purchased along with the bigger motor. They simply two bolted the 40hp onto the transom of the older boat without attaching the linkage or wiring connections, which is what I requested of them.

So far so good, here's the problem I'm dealing with now...

Today I connected the remote linkage and electrical wiring of the older 1994 Astro boat to the 2003 40hp Mercury outboard, in an attempt to start the motor for a prospective buyer. Everything worked just fine, and all linkage and wiring connections fit together perfectly, as both motors have basically the same linkage and wiring configurations. However, prior to starting the motor, I shifted the remote controls to the forward poisition and now they are stuck in that poistion. I am unable to shift the motor to nutral, either with the use of the remote controls while the linkage is connected, or by hand with the linkage disconnected. This motor ran perfectly and shifted flawlessly prior to the engine swap, so I must be missing something.

Please advise, and thank you in advance!

Sincerely,
Nathan
Austin, TX
 

oldman570

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Mar 25, 2011
Messages
1,615
Re: 2003 Mercury 40hp Outboard - Stuck in Gear

Try turning the motor by hand while shifting at the same time, as some will not shift unless the motor is runing or being turned over.
Oldman570
 
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