Update July 01….
well after much holy words here is what I ended up doing
on the 9.5 just where the top of the carry handle joins the motor there is a small nipple like protrusion centered on the outside surface of the ” bolt channel” where the friction nut resides ( inside the hollow tube cavity below the slotted 7/16 tiller adjustment nut
The nipple like protrusion has a metal plug insert about 3/16 inch which I ended up drilling out to gain access to the innards …. where the darn “free spinning” nut resides
I poked in a nail to jam the nut while unscrewing the slotted 7/16 tiller friction bolt and…. it came out 🙂
I found that both friction pads had long ago disintegrated so I replaced the 2 pads with hardware store fiber washers but … I guess nylon washers would have worked also.
I redrilled the hole and tapped it for a 10/24 bolt in case I ever need to jam the nut again
I screwed down the friction adjustment nut just enough to stabilize the tiller handle…….. when I felt it adjusting bolt starting to free spin again but in the end, the new fiber pads provided enough friction to do the job .
I have another 1972 9.5hp with a similar problem so I will be working that one a bit further to find a way to secure that small nut more permanently.
Maybe I will drill & tap a bit higher … in line with the nut and jam the nut solid with a 10/24 bolt
another alternative is to find a same thread nut with a fatter body and slide it down the cavity …. maybe it will catch the sides and stop free spinning
Joining AOMCI has priviledges 🙂
