Mercury Blue Stripe newb question

[Doncolberto530]

I recently picked up a new boat without a motor. A good friend of my family gave me a running 80hp Mercury with controls. According to him all it needed was new cables and an impeller. Anyways, I installed the new cables to the controls with no problem based on all the time spent on this site. The problem is connecting the new cables to the motor. When I turn the prop clockwise it clicks and will only go about an 8th of a turn before stopping going counter clockwise. So from everything I have read it is in gear. Is there a way to manually shift if into nuetral with no cables attached? I plan on replacing the impeller as well and know even then it should be in nuetral before starting. The attached picture shows what I am working with. I tried pushing the spot the gear cables attaches to shift it but didn't get too crazy with it in fear of messing something up. Advice? And thanks for the awesome site.

 

[Silvertip]

The end of the shift cable moves the shift linkage. Disconnect the cable and move the linkage by hand. You said you PUSHED on it. Try PULLING on it. With the engine in neutral the prop should spin freely by hand in both directions.

 

[merc850]

In that (pic) position the gear is in F; push the fitting about 2" until it stops that will be neutral check by turning prop, then hook up the control by adjusting the brass barrel until it fits. Don't push it father or you will be in reverse. Do not shift into reverse with engine not running.

 

[Doncolberto530]

In that (pic) position the gear is in F; push the fitting about 2" until it stops that will be neutral check by turning prop, then hook up the control by adjusting the brass barrel until it fits. Don't push it father or you will be in reverse. Do not shift into reverse with engine not running.

I have tried pushing it towards the center but there seems to be a lot of resistance. Is it ok to really put some force on it? I can't imagine it taking this much force under normal circumstances with only the cable moving it. Or does it shift easier when running?

 

[merc850]

It requires some force but then it stops in neutral, have someone turn the prop while you move it to see if it is moving out of forward, at the same time check that the reverse locks are moving over the tilt pin freely. It's also possible that the LU was installed incorrectly and the internal cam is out of position. Who changed the impeller?

 

[Doncolberto530]

It requires some force but then it stops in neutral, have someone turn the prop while you move it to see if it is moving out of forward, at the same time check that the reverse locks are moving over the tilt pin freely. It's also possible that the LU was installed incorrectly and the internal cam is out of position. Who changed the impeller?

I will have to do somesome research to identify the parts you are speaking of. The impeller has not been changed yet. When I was the given the motor I was told it needed to be changed. I have video of the motor from a week before I got it running and shifting. The impeller is something I am going to try to tackle with my more experienced buddies. I was just hoping to have the cables done before that.

 

[racerone]

There is a strong spring acting on the clutch dog.--Faces on the forward side of clutch dog are on an angle.----It takes some effort to get it into nuetral.-----Push with some kind of handle , like a big screw driver.

 

[merc850]

Here's a page about the reverse lock

 

[Chris1956]

The shift slider should be approximately in the center of it's travel, when the motor is in neutral. Sliding the slider forward puts the motor in forward, where the prop will ratchet when turned CW. If the prop turns a bit each way, before stopping, that is reverse gear.

It is easy for the upper shift and lower shift shafts to get misaligned. The cure is to put the motor in neutral and observe the position of the slider. If too far forward, the gearcase should be dropped and then reinstalled with the shift slider centered. since you want to change the inpeller anyway, the gearcase will need to come off.

 

[Doncolberto530]

Thanks. I will have to check this out tonight.

Here's a page about the reverse lock