Merc 165 inboard frozen

"Anyone that has any ideas ple

"Anyone that has any ideas please help. Motor is inboard merc 165, 1981...ran fin then stalled. cant get it to turn over at all now. starter ingages but motor will not turn. almost like motor froze or is binding on something. could it be a lower end problem? any suggestion will help."

Yes it could be the lower unit

Yes it could be the lower unit. Pull the drive off and check if the engine is free.

possibly the engine could be i

possibly the engine could be in a hydraulic lock. pull the spark plugs out then roll it over and check for water. maybe there is bad flapper valves. my buddies 4.3L did the same sort of thing and it was a bad head gasket.

"Update..pulled starter and af

"Update..pulled starter and after starter was pulled it would not turn (the starter that is) just would click. i am goin gto try a new starter and see what happens. Oil is clean, good spark and wanted to start but just could not go all the way."

OK I'm confused by this la

OK I'm confused by this last post.

Was the starter the reason the engine was not turning / moving?

If this is the problem I am happy for you but if you have this type of problem again please try to turn the engine with a wrench on the crankshaft pulley bolt to see if the engine will turn.
This will help in knowing if you have an engine / drive or starter problem and save alot of time.
If it was a bad starter the engine would have turned back and released the starter from the flywheel.
Then the engine would turn free letting you know the drive and engine were not frozen but the starter may have a problem.

This is my fault for taking it for granted that people would know to try this test.
Sorry I did not catch that the starter was not ruled out as the cause. If I had it would have saved you alot of time.
The way that you said what was going on made me think you knew the engine was locked and the starter was working.

Sometimes I just do not remember that not everyone is a mechanic and knows what signs to look for or what some sounds mean.

It sure will be nice if the starter is the problem.

Check your battery as well.

"Update..put new starter on an

"Update..put new starter on and motor started. still need to take lower end of though, i hear squelling like metal on metal coming from where it hooks up to boat. like a bad baring or something."

"you did fire that up with wat

"you did fire that up with water hooked to it right, if not we all know what the noice was"

Did you install any shims in b

Did you install any shims in between the starter and the block? The starter could be to close to the flywheel. Loosen the starter bolts and add one small shim and retry it.
Did you check for shims when you removed the starter?

"Update..boat runs great, chan

"Update..boat runs great, change gear oil in lower unit..good to go and yes i always hook water up when running the engine. no noise bu ti think the gear linkage between the throttle and the engine needs to be adjusted. in nuetral if i move the throttle around the engine wants to engage into gear but if i wickle it around the gears will go to nuetral, How do i adjust the throttle?"