1985 Mercury 35hp tiller

allwayzfishin · Jun 1, 2013

Hello,

Im new to this site. I have a couple questions?

So, I recently picked up a 1985 Mercury 35hp for $400. The motor looks great for its age but it was missing the shift lever and it was also stuck in forward gear. I know nothing about outboards and decided to take a chance since larger outboards up in N.E Ohio are usually priced $1300-2000. I took it to a outboard mechanic and he said I got a good deal if it has good compression and runs. One thing tho, I needed to locate that shift lever so he could get it into neutral, then we can get it to turn over. I haven't found that shift lever yet. Im still looking and its been like 6 weeks. The mechanic has been looking as well

Does anyone know a outboard salvage yard that could possibly have that old Merc shift lever? I have called a few places with no luck. Is there anything I can do to get it in neutral and pull start it?

Also, does anyone have experience with this year and hp Merc? Are these poorly made motors? The mechanic claims that Merc motors have the spark plug screwed directly into the cylinder which will eventually lead to a burned out cylinder. I am now concerned I just threw away $400....someone please help boost my moral, cause it kinda shot at this point...lol

Thanks Fellas

nccatfisher · Jun 1, 2013

It won't be real cheap but that still should be a dealer available part.

JMichael · Jun 2, 2013

All the parts diagrams I've looked at show that motor as having the shift in the tiller handle, so are you looking for a complete tiller assembly? I would have thought the mechanic could shift it into neutral without the shifter but maybe not.

allwayzfishin · Jun 2, 2013

The part is obsolete. I called Mercury and their dealers. No luck

meonline06 · Jun 3, 2013

I have three of that same motor (One I use, the other two are parts motors). Mine are the remote steer models though. I have never owned a tiller steer so I don't think I will be much help. I know you can get the lower unit into neutral by pulling it and manually turning the cam, but I don't think that would help you any. I would think you should be able to get it into neutral by moving the throttle arm/lever where the shifter controls/cables hook up. I have done that before in my model but like I said I'm not familiar with tillers. You may be able to simply jump the solenoid or starter if you are just trying to see whether it will run. That should work whether it is in neutral or in gear. The only reason it has to be in neutral to start is because the shifter has a neutral sensor that prevents power from making it to the solenoid when it's in gear.

If you ever need to order parts like a carb kit or water pump, I get most of my stuff here:https://www.boats.net/parts/search/Merc/Mercury/1985/parts.htmll. They have other stuff to, but the major parts generally get expensive. I had trouble with mine running originally, but after rebuilding the fuel pump and carburetor it ran great. I recommend checking the compression before you put any money into this thing. You can pick up a tester fairly cheap somewhere like Harbor Freight. I'm honestly amazed that the mechanic didn't check that for you. It only takes a few minutes. You just need to unscrew the spark plugs, screw in the compression tester and crank the motor a few times.