Quinte Fishing

First off...I'm not that knowledgeable about motors and yes, I realize this was stupid. Motor is a 1993 15HP evinrude

I went to change the lower unit oil last night (haven't done it before) and I accidentally took out the wrong screw . It wouldn't go back in, I moved the shift level from drive to neutral and it went right in. A buddy told me this was the 'pivot pin' that puts the transmission in gear and I likely didn't get it back into it's correct alignment. A quick google search on the subject confirms this was not a good screw to remove.

So...it does shift into forward and reverse now, which does seem to take the prop out of neutral spin. The prop does spin BOTH ways with some effort to turn it over in both forward and reverse. I've yet to start it up, but was thinking of starting it in the driveway (with the muffs on it) to see if it still spins the prop forward and backward.

A few questions for those who may know more about this:

Is it a bad idea to just start it up and pop it in gear as is to test?

Do I need to pull apart the lower unit to line this pivot pin back up or is there some way to do it easily?

As far as I know you should be ok. It you start it and see if it goes forward and in rev you should be good.

X2. Make sure the screw is tight. Spin the prop clockwise in fwd and counterclockwise in rev. If you make the flywheel turn over clockwise in both situations you are a lucky man and good to go. Usually if the screw is not in correctly you will get reverse and then it stays there.

I would never start an outboard without water flow to the pump impeller. You can get an attachment for the garden hose for about $12. Impeller will cost at least three times that.

_________________
Bruce Ogilvie

"Fish Hard, Hunt Hard, Live Hard"

http://www.muskiescanada.ca/

Thanks for the replies fellas. Guess I'm lucky, it seems to be working. I wouldn't start the motor without the muffs either, good investment for sure.