evinrude 9.9 stuck shallow water latch / tilt lock

[73 Dolphin]

1982 9.9. Tilt latch has to be engaged by hand. The lever will not budge.
If i tilt the motor the shallow water latch engages so i have to get out of boat and manually disengage.
Getting tired of getting wet !
Is it likely corrosion or is there something I may be missing?
Have tried in gear, neautal, reverse.
Thanks !

 

[73 Dolphin]

I hoping someone tells me something obvious before i take the torch to it !

 

[oldboat1]

Don't grab the torch. I had the same thing when looking at one -- think the issue was that there was no tilt pin installed (either that or tilt and release lock lever wasn't properly engaged.) If it's happening on the boat, I'm guessing it's lack of a tilt pin.

(Edit: think I missed your point -- tilt/release lock lever is hung up(?) Recalling the shallow water latch is spring loaded, and thinking it hangs if the tilt pin is not in place -- but will have to look at one of my motors tomorrow for operation of the lock lever and shallow water mechanisms. Sorry.)

 

[flyingscott]

Tilt the motor all the way up and make sure the tilt lever isn't bent or y linkages are bent. Usually it is automatic if you move the lever to tilt and pull it up 1/2 way it will engage. When you want to disengage the shallowater drive you pull up enough to take pressure off of the bracket. Flip the tilt lever to lock and should drop the bracket out of the way motor should return to normal running position. Look at how that functions could be gummed or corroded.

 

[73 Dolphin]

Oldboat1 to the rescue again! Thanks. The tilt pin i have has half of the plastic end missing. Doing a search for one made this apparent to me for the first time and now this makes total sense.
I didnt even imagine the lock pin I had was missing anything. Im really glad you replied before i got the torch out. Also the ammount of grease and wd40 on every spring and pivot that i applied cant hurt!

 

[73 Dolphin]

Flyingscott. Thanks for the suggestions too. Ill need to order a new lock pin and start from there. I didnt have one to compare mine to and didnt realise it should have had the spring/ hinge type thing on the plastic end.

 

[73 Dolphin]

No Title

Hmmm. I read you replies while out and searched for a lock pin online. Got excited when I saw it had a piece on the end that mine didnt. When i got home I realised it wouldnt contact anythig. So im guessing most likely stuck? Here are some pictures of the assembly. I cant see anything obviously wrong but I dont have a reference.

 

[73 Dolphin]

No Title

This is my lock pin. The original lock pin. The end finally broke off trying to remove it. Its rusted in pretty solidly. Luckily the next hole up is ideal. I put a similar sized dia bolt through (all the way) and put a nut on it.

 

[oldboat1]

Those OEM tilt pins are expensive, and a hex bolt and nut can work -- as you suggest. (Flyingscott's description of the tilt lock/shallow draft operation is right, although I still want to go out and look at mine -- got me thinking.)

From what I see, you have the tilt lock lever in place, but might be missing the plastic end. Rust is pretty bad, but think it must be operational if you are somehow able to move the motor out of the tilt position. [edit: first pic]

 

[flyingscott]

Can you pull up on the motor when it is in the normal running position without moving anything. It looks like it is running in the unlock position which activates the shallowater drive everytime you pull it up. Or when you put it in the normal running position is it locked down. I don't see the trim pin affecting what is happening because the shallowater bracket only sits against that. With that amount of corrosion could just be stuck

 

[73 Dolphin]

Went ahead and ordered the pin after studying some more. Perhaps the molded hook/lever will contact something and make it all work. Thanks again.

 

[oldboat1]

There are four or five springs that are variously part of the locking or shallow drive mechanism(s). They might be rusted away. I'll check one of my motors, but you might look under there and see if there are multiple springs. If they are all rusted away, the reverse lock or shallow drive mechanism will likely not work even if with the tilt lock lever working, and the tilt pin in place. (This is a time when it would be nice if you had access to a sister motor so you could compare. Replacement springs would be available.)

If neither the shallow drive or the reverse lock work, the motor should still be usable as is. You might remove the shallow drive bracket in that case. You would want to keep a tilt pin in place so the trim can be set, although would need to operate with some additional care without a reverse lock. That could get a little exciting.

 

[73 Dolphin]

The long latch that holds the motor fully up ( pic 1 ) is not under any sort of spring tension. From the rear of thr motor I have to manually lift then pull latch towards me to lock. The lever with the black plastic grip and direction arrows does not move at all. The shallow water drive operates fine and springs into place. However i then need to lift motor from rear again and manually disengage it. Im seriously concerned about losing a finger tip. All the springs seem to be in place ( pic 2+3 ) but the exploded schematics dont make it clear of how the conections should be.
I am hoping the end of the lock pin I have ordered somehow catches the little finger on the bottom of the shallow water bracket and allows the lever to move.
I have tried to pull, coerce, and stretch every spring, pivot, and latch from the transon top to the sw drive and nothing seems to want free up the hand lever.
So pin first ,then if that doesnt work Ill get the torch out.

 

[73 Dolphin]

No Title

Better pic of springs

 

[racerone]

I do not think a new tilt pin will help with this problem !

 

[oldboat1]

Have some pics of a couple of mine, but diff. uploading at the moment. One would just repeat your pic of the springs, anyway, so not helpful (yours are intact). The others just show the relative positions of the reverse lock lever.

You will need to free up that lever (pic 1) with some lube and maybe some heat. It has to rock counterclockwise in your first picture to allow the motor to return from the tilt position. The tilt lock link (vertical support) unlocks at the bottom to let the leg drop. With the lever rotated counterclockwise, the leg has to be lifted slightly and the link will release -- leg slides down back to transom. The shallow draft support drops down out of the way when the motor is lowered. If everything is in place, I think you need to free up the lever to get the mechanism to work correctly. When in place at the transom, the reverse lock should catch the tilt pin if the lever is rotated clockwise -- secures the leg in place.

 

[73 Dolphin]

No Title

I just found a nos lever for $20. Its on its way. I think I'm going to chew the old one up pretty badly gripping it to remove. It must be just rusted up at this point i think

 

[oldboat1]

yes, probably not easy to remove -- think it's in place with a bushing and one or two spring washers, but not sure of that. Might end up freeing it up after messing with it, and that will be enough. Hard to work with corrosion damage.

 

[dwightfri]

No Title

Better pic of springs

I want to thank you for posting this picture, my shallow drive link was broken and this helped me to reassemble it with new parts

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