Pull start ?

I"ve got a 1998 Mariner 15hp 4 stroke. The pull start is getting locked up. The shifter on the side of the motor seems to get stuck when this happens. If you set there and play with both after awhile it will pull and work. Doesn't happen every time I try to start it, but enough that I'm afraid it is going to strand me sometime. Also it seems hard to pull compared to other motors, I talk to older guys all the time and when they go to leave it seems like they reach back with 2 fingers and pull theirs to start. It takes all I've got to pull it normally. Any ideas would be great. Thanks

This sounds like the shift linkage and fail safe neutral device is out of adjustment. There is a fail safe that keeps you from being able to crank the motor when it is not in neutral. If you do try to adjust this linkage, just make sure that it will not crank unless it is in neutral for your safety. If it cranked while in gear it could throw you out of the boat. As far as being hard to pull it sounds like you have real good compression which is not a bad thing.:twocents

What Scrat says is true. Pull your cover off. If it's like my 40 mariner it should have a small cable that attaches to shift linkage and the safety lock. Make sure it is in neutral and their should be a adjustment on one end of the cable. Those Mariner motors have a lot of compression. Both my 40 and my 8 are hard to pull. My 40 is electric and rope pull. I have never been able to pull start the 40. It would take real hoss to pull start that thing.

Thank You