Merc 1977 110 9.8 tilt problem

Hi,

New to the forum. I just bought a 1977 Mercury 110 9.8 HP outboard. Runs great and runs circles around my old 9 hp SeaKing. Problem is that I can't tilt the engine back when launching the boat and almost dropped it in the water while trying to balance and lift it into place. When I lay the engine on the ground with the inards up, I can see and grab the mechanism and make the tilt work. There is a wire rod thatactivates this and extends down towards the prop and dissapears - I cannot find where it goes to or a lever to pull on the front side of the engine to trigger it.

Thank you for any guidance.

Duane

just joined had this problem and finally 'read' my manual, turns out that the motor must be in forward gear for the tilt mechanism to work. You have probably already found this out. Hope you are enjoying your motor. ~twalter

If you already had it in neutral, then the problem is a cheapo plastic part you can't get at to replace--great design there, Carl (Kiekhaefer).

If this is the case, I recommend that you disable the neutral lock and just dont rev her up in reverse. This is done--and I did one two days ago!--by shortening the wire going down into the lower unit with some pliers: Bend it into a bunch loops and angles to shorten it enough so it pulls down on the 'hook' that grabs the tilt pin (locking the motor down in neutral).

Jeff

Thank you for the help. I did figure it out with the help of a local boat shop.

I do have another question though - I have read that it is important to run the engine dry after use so no gas remains in the lines, etc. I assume that you just disconnect the fuel line while running and wait for it to die. Here is my concern - does the fuel hose connection at the engine close itself off so that it would put pressure on the fuel system as the fuel is sucked into the pistons? I dont want to damage any seals.

One more thing - my 110 is a 1977, should I be concerned about ethanol in the gas?

Many thanks.

Duane

Disconnect fuel at the engine and run it till motor stops.-----Nothing else or pressure issues to worry about !