1978 mercury 110 9.8 pull start problem

[NWbamabass]

The pull start cord will not retract..took the whole mechanism off but im at a dead end on what to do now..never worked on an outboard in my life and can't find anything to help me on here..understand the it may be retractor spring but not sure how to fix it..anything will help thank you

 

[60sboater]

Not easy to work on or explain;try to gain access to the exploded view and instructions. I have worked on one or two but also bought two...one from ebay and another off an old parts motor at a local dealer. I have a a 9.8 and two 7.5s from the 70s.

I have a Seloc 1404 manual that is good for this...most,if not all,is copied from Mercury sources.