won't turn over
 

I have a 3.7 liter mercruiser long block 190hp on my 1986 V20. Just did a tuneup, water pump gasket, thermostat, etc...and i can't get it to turn over from the throttle. Jumping it at the starter gets it to turn over but still no start. The outdrive seems to be locked in gear and i just also noticed a 1 inch crack right above the prop on the outdrive. The boat has been sitting for 3 years and my question is could this crack have anything to do with it being stuck and not shifting to neutral? Is this a death sentance for the outdrive as well? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

If your drive is locked in gear then your netural starter safety switch will prevent it from starting. As to the crack, that doesn't sound good. Pics would help.

when you removed the outdrive for the water pump fix did you line up the shifter? that will make it in gear and not start. if the lower unit is cracked is it holding oil in th gear box?? if not its junk, and you would have to get it rebuilt and welded or replace, bet it be cheaper to look for a new rebuilt or good used one.

There is a ignition interrupt on the shift linkage that kills the engine briefly as you go from neutral intpo gear to make shifting easier. Look into that.

Thanks for the tips. I'm gonna be looking deeper into it hopefully tomorrow or over the weekend. I'm technologically challenged so trying to get a pic on here is somewhat pointless but i'll see what i can do...great to be back on here! Lost time with 3 girls 4 years and under but they're ready to finally get out on the water and with some help i'm sure it'll be soon.

Open an account on Photobucket and then upload all your pics there. Select the pic you want to display here and under the pic look for the tag line [img] picture you want [/img] Left click on that line to copy it, then paste it in your post here. That's all there is to it :beer:

My outdrive is toast so i'm now torn between finding a quick replacement or calling it a year and starting the outboard conversion...not looking to drop $1000 on the drive so unless i can get lucky soon the decision has been made for me.

Check craigslist I see them going for as little as 350.00 to 500.00 just make sure its for the 3.7 liter.

Yeah i've been checking there but i don't want somebody else's crap. If i finish work early enough tomorrow i have one to take a look at for $400 so hopefully...