Motor anti-tilt locks in forward not reverse

[Johnv]

I received a 20 HP Merc, about 20 years old, as a gift and it has a problem that the locking mechanism to keep the motor from tilting up engages when the motor is in forward gear rather than reverse. It appears that the shift lever operates in the correct direction to engage the latch, but the gear operates in the wrong direction. Is it possible that the gear or the "dog" in the gear case is installed backwards. Not sure if the previous owner did some work on the lower end and put it together backward if that is possible.<br /><br />Any help on diagnosing or solving the problem would be appreciated.<br /><br />john

 

[Paul Gutkowski]

Re: Motor anti-tilt locks in forward not reverse

These engines had anumber of characteristic problems. Does it have a plastic or stainless push rod. If plastic, they usually bend and need to be replaced with new stainless components. This can be inspected from the outside, but requires powerhead disassembly to accomplish the repair. The reverse lock could be damaged or installed incorrectly. The reverse lock hook could be bent from years of slamming into the pin and must be replaced.

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Motor anti-tilt locks in forward not reverse

I had an older merc that did that after I dropped the lower unit to service the water pump. Now this was a long time ago, but I do recall that if the rod that engages the latch was improperly installed(Backwards), it would do the exact same thing yours is doing. I really don't recall the specifics of how it was configured, but I removed the lower unit and fixed it real quick. A manual would explain this procedure. Sorry I can't help more, but I believe someone was into the LU and did not get this installed correctly when it went back together. Maybe others have more recent experience that can help or pick up a Manual to show you how to repair it. They have them here at the bottom of the page, if you cannot locate one near you. Good Luck,