9.8 Mercury Impeller replacement, now no neutral

[Rich3574]

I just finished replacing the impeller and lower unit gear oil on my 1981-1982 Mercury 9.8. I put the lower unit in a bucket of water to start it the engine and as soon as it started the propeller was turning even though the shift lever was in neutral. This model (pull start) has the feature that it will not start in forward or reverse. What did I do wrong?

 

[racerone]

You need to remove lower unit.----Now put lever on motor in forward.------Make sure lower unit is in forward and then re-assemble.

 

[Rich3574]

Thanks for the reply racerone. How do I tell if/when the lower unit is in forward?

 

[fastjeff]

It's a bit easier getting those LUs on if you stand the motor on its head.

Jeff