1996 Mercury 30 hp 2 stroke - questions

[kg25]

I just bought a 1996 30hp Mercury tiller 2 stroke oil injected outboard and have a few questions. The carb was cleaned/adjusted, new spark plugs put in, impeller replaced and lower unit lube changed just prior to purchase.

My questions:

1. The engine stop/cutoff button at the end of the tiller handle is very difficult to push in, need to use both thumbs to do it. Is there any issues with just using the kill switch that the lanyard attaches to to shut off the engine or will using that exclusively cause it to wear out too quickly? (I'll also look into replacing the button at the end of the tiller handle at some point)

2. My previous outboard experience is with 70's and 80's smaller Evinrudes that had a choke. This 1996 Mercury has a primer bulb pump on the cowling and no choke, how many times am I supposed to prime it when starting it cold and what exactly is happening when I prime it?

3. There is tilt lock that can be enabled that will prevent the outboard from being tilted up. I've got about 12" of clearance to the ground when the motor is down on the trailer, if I put the tilt lock on and tie down the outboard to keep it from turning/bouncing can I trailer it in this manner?

I ordered a service manual but don't have it yet.

Thanks for any insight!

[Luke_M]

I have the mariner version of yours. I would think the lanyard switch would work for a time but I would fix the kill button. As far as starting my outboard will not start the first time out if I have it up on shallow drive but with the motor down I pump the fuel line bulb till its hard, pump the primer on the motor 3-4 times and it fires right up. As far as transporting I use a transom saver but if you have the ground clearance strapping the motor down so its not bouncing should be fine.

[kg25]

I have the mariner version of yours. I would think the lanyard switch would work for a time but I would fix the kill button. As far as starting my outboard will not start the first time out if I have it up on shallow drive but with the motor down I pump the fuel line bulb till its hard, pump the primer on the motor 3-4 times and it fires right up. As far as transporting I use a transom saver but if you have the ground clearance strapping the motor down so its not bouncing should be fine.

Thanks for the reply. I'll take a closer look at the current tiller kill switch and if there isn't any way to fix it I'll order a new one. Hopefully not too hard to replace.

I have taken it out twice so far and did what you did (pump fuel line until bulb is hard, push primer 3 times and then start up). First time it started right up no issues, 2nd time it took a little longer and died a couple of times after I thought it was started. Once I got it started it started right up the rest of the time on the water.

I just want to make sure I am using the proper starting procedure and not flood something or whatever.