Mercury 1500, lower unit problem?

[180vsonictwain]

Hey everyone, and thanks for reading. I have a 1977 mercury thunderbolt 1500. Its a strong running engine, but the recently the lower unit started acting wacky. when I crank it up, the prop spins backward, and when I gun it (give it throttle) the prop stops spinning. What could this be? Im brand new to boating, and hoping Im just missing something and not just looking at an expensive repair. Thanks for any insight and advice you can give!

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Mercury 1500, lower unit problem?

If you are talking about runing the motor on the flusher device, in neutral, that movement is normal. Does it go into gear and stay in gear under load?

 

[180vsonictwain]

Re: Mercury 1500, lower unit problem?

Well, I was messing with it yesterday, and now it looks like it is spinning backwards when I put it under load? its acting all wacky. sometimes it will spin backward until I give it throttle then it stops spinning, then sometimes it wont be spinning, and when I give it throttle, it spins backward.