Moved gear lever in petrol enge when off and out of water

[pprendergast]

Am I in big trouble? 4stroke Tohatsu 18 outboard linked to control levers in cabin. Before laying up I noticed the lever for changing gears was a bit stiff. Now on the hard, I opened the lever box and sprayed 2020 oil, and moved the lever into forward and reverse a few times. I then went to start it (with a muffler on garden hose at water intake), but it won't start at all. I think it is stuck in forward and it only starts in neutral. Book says never switch gears when out of water.Help

 

[dnickj]

no your in no trouble - if your linkage was stiff it has probably gone out of adjustment - so when you move the lever the engine is not going in to neutral - best way to check is disconnect cable from egine gear leaver and then put engine to neutral you might then either have to adjust the cables at the cockpit control or the engine end.

 

[Rivers & creeks]

Please ignore this if it's not the issue - but is the kill cord / ignition cut switch the problem? The number of times I've gone into a blind panic when it won't start then realised that the kill cord is out. Even more of a problem with the hidden cut off switch on the new Mariner. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif