I have an 85 9.8hp Merc, serial number is A176805. I believe I have the problem mentioned here: http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=566490 where I have no reverse or neutral. I have only had it on the water a month or so and it has been running so I figured I would not mess with it until the "off season." Well today I went out and cranked on the thing for about 30 minutes before I finally got her to life. Part of the problem is that it seemed to not want to switch into forward gear. It currently does not pull in reverse or neutral due to the above issue, but I had to hold the shifter forward to get it to even pull. I ended up taking the cover off and seeing where the shifter would push if it were to go into forward so I pushed that with my finger and it eventually went into gear, but then I think maybe I had flooded it as it still took quite a while. Is the issue with not going in gear the same issue as not having a reverse or neutral? This is my 5th or so time out and the first time it has given me any major issues. It did something similar the last time, but it went into gear after a try or two with the shifter. My fear is that it is getting worse. Once we were out to our spot today it fired up after sitting for a few hours without real issue. I am hoping to have it straightened out by next weekend when some family comes into town. Thanks in advance for any help and for even reading my long post!
