1969 Mercury 200 20hp

[Devdog78]

My cousin gave me a 69 Mercury 200 this past weekend. He said it hasn't run in about 5 years. I got everything set to go, pulled the pull start and it feels like it is stuck. I attempted to move the shift into neutral, but it feels like it only goes in two directions. It has up and down, not sure if the middle is neutral like the manual says. I pulled off the pull start pulley and attempted to turn over the motor by hand. It does not budge. Any suggestions.

Thank you in advance.

 

[hotrod53]

Lay the motor face down, take out the plugs and spray some WD40 in the bore, let is soak a bit, then try and turn the flywheel. Only turn the flywheel in a clockwise direction to keep from turning the rubber impeller inside out and damaging it. Most likely you will need a new impeller once you get it to run.

 

[Chinewalker]

I would start by dropping the lower unit off the motor. This will tell you whether the issue is with the powerhead or the lower end. If it is indeed the powerhead, you are in for a complete rebuild or powerhead replacement. It is simply not worth the risk to keep pouring potions into the motor hoping they'll break it free. Too many steel bearings inside that can crust up with rust. If you did manage to free it up, its service life would likely be measured in minutes. It all boils down to how badly you want the motor and how much time/money you want to put into it.

 

[tomhath]

I assume it was used in salt water. Pulling the lower unit off first is a good idea, any leak down there would be a bad thing.