1976 Evinrude 40HP Pull Start Issue

So this weekend I was out on Patoka Lake in Indiana.... I shot out to a cove to get the kids some shade and let my wife do a little crappie fishing. I shut off the engine for about an hour and when they were ready to find a new hole I went to fire up the engine and get going.. I hadn't put it in neutral and went to pull the cable.. When I pulled the rip cord I felt/heard what seemed like something shearing off the top of the motor. The motor didn't fire up, so I went to pull it again and now the rip cord wont engage the crankshaft and get the motor turning.. The "spin plate" on top of the motor still winds up the rip cord and spins.. it just wont turn the motor at all..it's just loose.. Any ideas?

Sounds like your start paws busted off, i.e. shearing noise you heard.
Easy fix. Go to marineengine to see the parts diagram for your motor. You can buy the part at your local dealer or a number of places online. Good luck.

That's what I was thinking as well.. I took it apart earlier and the actual nubs on the paws -that grab that notched disk on the top of the motor - were bent upwards.. I looked at marineengine and they look like they are supposed to lay flat/inline with the rest of the paw. I am hoping that's the issue but looks like I'm just going to have to buy them and see. They have 2 types that look exactly the same in the picture.. One is for $4 the other $30 so I'm not 100% sure what the difference is.

It definitely has to be something in the pull start assembly bc I can grab that plate at the top and turn the crankshaft and can feel the compression when I turn it.

another option, buy a whole assembly off of the auction sites. i was missing some pieces for my pull start, and got a whole assembly for 30 bucks delivered. had a new spring, and handle.
dino