1977 850 idle gear question

[coolkook]

I have a mercury 850...when engine is off in neutral prop spins freely...when i put it in forward or reverse gear prop will not spin freely....does this indicate the motor is going into gear ?
The issue im having is when motor is running and put into gear..prop dosent go into gear..i cant seem to get the motor to idle so ive been told its a safty built into engine preventing it from going into gear if idle is to high...so i guess im asking..is that true ? And is the fact that when engine is off it seems to go into gear mean it should be fine once i get idle figured out
Hope that made sense
Ty mikr

 

[Chris1956]

In forward, with the motor off, the prop should spin CW with a rachet sound. In reverse, with the motor off, the prop should spin about 1/4 turn in either direction and then lock.

That motor does not have a speed safety to keep you from putting it into gear.

What happens when you turn the idle stop screw out, to slow the idle speed?

BTW - Sometimes the throttle cable needs to be adjusted to push the throttle closed to slow the idle speed.

 

[CharlieB]

Many control boxes if the throttle cable has too much pressure the control handle will 'stick' and be difficult to shift.

There should only be just enough pressure to closed the throttle linkage, NOT so much as to shove it hard.

 

[coolkook]

Ty guys so im new to the boating world..still learning..the control levers do seem to move easy although the forward lever in my opinion seems to go very far forward when i throttle it up in gear..im pretty sure the idle screw was as low as it can go..im leaning towards a cable adjustment...i did find a mech who is going to look at it on monday...i am curious however if there is no idle safety what does it tell you that when off it goes into gear but when running it dosent...ty again

 

[Chris1956]

That is a new one. If she shifts with the motor off, it should shift ith the motor running I would think. Are the cables reversed? With the motor off, push the throttle handle forward. The bottom (shift) cable should move first. When it stops, the top (throttle) cable should start to move.