Clanging when going out of nuetral

[stingray]

I have a Mercury in my 2004 20V. On Sunday I was heading home after a good session pulling my son. Start the engine, no problem, put it in forward gear and all we get is a metallic clanging with no propulsion. Of course I shut it down and then tried it in reverse. Same story. When we got it back on the hoist we investigated and found everything was in order under the boat and that I could freely spin the prop. The boat is going in to our local lake shop, Wilson Marine, but I was curious if anyone could diagnose the problem from this brief discription or may have had a similiar experience.

Thanks.

[Tige M.D.]

sounds like your shaft coupler bolts came loose. i think we covered this earlier this season?

[TeamAllen]

glad to hear you're well and see you back Tige MD! This might be the post he was reffering to.
http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=914&highlight=shaft+coupler+bolts

[stingray]

Found three bolts/nuts under the drive and one in the sleeve sheared off. Tige has been good to me over the phone and I trust will take care of the issue for me.

Thank you

[thehardeys]

Hi Stingray,
I'm in SE Mich also, and was wondering if you can recommend a good repair facility for my used '99 Riders I just picked up. You mentioned Wilson, are they authorized? Thanks...