Anybody Know Much About Small Mercury Outboards?

[Steiny77]

A buddy of mine passed away last year and his widow is trying to sell the boat which has a 1999 Merc, 4 stroke, 25 HP hand tiller, manual trim tilt outboard.
Took my battery over there and water earmuffs to run the thing but didn't get anywhere.

The shift lever was in forward when I got there and for the life of me, I can't get the thing shifted into neutral, therefore it won't crank.
The prop will turn and it turns the motor over a bit, so engine is not locked up.

Has to be something simple I just can't figure out.
It has a weird emergency kill switch that says off down / run up and it's in the run up position, looks like s simple toggle switch. She can't find the wrist lanyard and it's not in the boat. I'm not too sure this model has to have it in place to run? Difficult to see how it would clip in, where most are a little deal that clips around the kill switch button and holds it out.

Would not shifting have anything to do with having the "lock down" feature that holds the motor down into running position? This is something I've not yet messed with.
All small outboards have this, so motor doesn't kick upwards when run in reverse.

Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks !

 

[Northwoods]

I’m confused when you say shift lever cause any small merc that I have ever used had the shift built into the throttle. Turn it left and that is forward, turn it more left and that is faster. Turn it right, and that is reverse. There should be a center position for neutral. I had a mid 1990’s merc, 25 hp 2 stroke for several years. Was a good little outboard.

 

[JDH]

I have a mid/late 90s 15 hp Mariner so they might be the same. Maybe someone here can answer that? It normally runs pretty good for me so I haven't had the need to take it apart much but I have taken the carb apart twice due to the needle being stuck closed. It's not at my house but I can take a look at it this weekend. I could see the lock down feature affecting the shifting because they should be linked. The motor swings free when it's in forward gear. If you want to see any pics or to check anything specific, just let me know.
Mariner diagram
I would look into how to bypass the kill switch to see if that helps.

I should mention the tiller on mine is the same as Northwoods.

 

[Steiny77]

Thanks for the feedback, but got it fixed and running.
Was a simple stupid deal ....... rotated the prop slightly while trying to shift and it easily went into neutral.
Hooked up my battery, put the water ear muffs on it, kill switch on run, throttle in start position and she fired right up when I turned the key, and runs like a champ.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

My Bro is a tech rep for Mercury. If you run into any other issues don't hesitate to reach out.