i have a mid 90's mercury short shaft 2 stroke with manual pull start. when i pull the rope, the pull start does not engage the fly wheel i guess. the rope does recoil, and the engine is not seized. have any ideas of what i need to look for?
i dont understand what the "paws" are. the only thing i see making contact is the bearing in the center. do i need to pull the rope pully from the starter housing to get to these paws?
Remove the recoil from the motor. Spray WD40 around the shaft at the bottom and keep working it (pulling the cord). You'll see the pawls jump out when all is well.
Pawls = a pivoted bar adapted to engage with the teeth of a ratchet wheel or the like so as to prevent movement or to impart motion.
Batdaddy, thanks. that trick worked. there was a dirt dobber nest in the motor so i had busted it up and rinsed it off. i think the water on the grease made it stick. all is good now. thanks for the help guys!
