1988 Johnson 150HP Difficulty Shifting

[19TarponGW]

Hello All, First time posting, but an avid reader. I have a 1988 Johnson 150HP where all of a sudden there is no fwd. or rev. I tried adjusting the cable most of the way out and am able to get fwd, and likewise for reverse with adjusting the cable all the way in, but the shifting was hard. Near the end of last season it seemed like shifting was becoming increasingly stiff.
I've found in other posts it mentioned to disconnect the cable from the shift lever and try shifting this way. The shift cable is in almost new condition moving very freely. With the motor running on the muffs I couldn't move the shifter by hand and while using vise grips the lever was very difficult to move. I then changed the LU gear oil. It was a real dark blue, only a couple metal flakes and no water or foaming. To the best of my knowledge, the LU only has roughly 100 hours on it.
In another post it was mentioned that salt encrustation around some seals where the shift shaft passes through the exhaust housing could be the cause, but in that post another issue was found. How difficult is it to drop the lower unit and clean these seals?
I've pulled and rebuilt motors in cars but have this mental image of me breaking every bolt head off while working on an outboard.
Thanks in Advance, Kevin

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1988 Johnson 150HP Difficulty Shifting

disconnect cables at motor, and try to shift. if it is easy, then the bushings in the controller may be bad. if not then drop the lower:

the hardest part is disconnecting & reconnecting the shift rod under the carb, while you have it off, may as well service the water pump. then remove all the bolts, including the one under the trim fin. unit drops down. reverse to install.

 

[19TarponGW]

Re: 1988 Johnson 150HP Difficulty Shifting

OK, attempting to drop the lower unit, but not being very successful.
I've removed the four bolts on the sides and the two on the underside, one being under the trim fin/tab.
I also removed this bolt.

The lower unit drops about an inch then stops. Rotating the prop shaft, it feels like it's now in gear. Returning the LU back to its seated position switches it back to neutral, so it's the shift shaft still holding the unit up.

Did I remove the wrong bolt or is there a trick? Thanks again,

Kevin
Go Bulls, USF

 

[Benny1963]

Re: 1988 Johnson 150HP Difficulty Shifting

make sure shift rod is disconnected
if it drops 1inch chances are that it is the shift rod
if the lower was stuck in crank it wouldnt go that far
may also be water tube holding make sure you have all the bolts out and shift disconnected , then try useing some wood wedges on both sides
and tapping them in with hammer /but only if the bolts are all out
mainly shift rod if it drops and inch you probaly have the lower bolts out
check shift rod again
good luck
bennyb

 

[rodbolt]

Re: 1988 Johnson 150HP Difficulty Shifting

on that motor you remove a hair pin clip from the shift link, its hidden in the picture by the shift link.push the link in and rotate it to insure it cleared the rod./
take where that red arrow is and move outboard to the stbd, the very edge of the clip is visible, pull it and push the arm in until the pin clears the rod, then it will drop off

 

[rodbolt]

Re: 1988 Johnson 150HP Difficulty Shifting

the other method off link to rod attachment was via a tapered bolt which enters from the port side,stbd on a vew early V4's, but the one your arrow is pointing to is NOT the correct bolt, sorry.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: 1988 Johnson 150HP Difficulty Shifting

the more I look at the shifter block the more I am inclined to tell you yours unclips via the threaded tapered bolt that will come in on the port side horizontally.
I do so many I can look at it and go but cant remember exact years of link changes.
old age is killing me
but either way a simple inspection with a flashlight will tell you which dissconnect you have.

 

[19TarponGW]

Re: 1988 Johnson 150HP Difficulty Shifting

Thanks rodbolt, I just tried looking this morning but the mosquito swarm hit and tried to carry me away before I could gather my bearings.
The port side has the fuel return lines and a bit harder to look in. I did find the shift rod coming up but it disappears behind the block where the bolt was in the pic below. I travel M-F so if we don't get it today I'll be dreaming about for the rest of the week.

 

[19TarponGW]

Re: 1988 Johnson 150HP Difficulty Shifting

Dropped the LU finally. I enjoy looking at other peoples boat porn so I've taken some pics to help others if they have my setup. SELOC never even mentioned disconnecting the shift rod in the disassembly, only on re-install.


Here's the screw that fastens the shift shaft after I've removed it and placed on the flywheel.

It is accessed just like rodbolt mentioned, from the port side. The other screw I took out is the block set screw where the shift rod inserts into(orange arrow). This block fastens the shift shaft to the shift arm. The correct screw to take out is the red arrow and is partially backed out in this pic. The shift shaft is visible as a painted white just below the screw. The lower carb is the grey area in the upper left of the photo as viewed from port.

Here I've stepped back some to give some orientation.

Now for the next question. While rotating the prop or drive shaft, it takes about 10-11 lbs to shift out of neutral into either forward or reverse. Returning to neutral is only 4 lbs. I wired a postal scale to the shift shaft hole and pushed/pulled up/down. It seems to shift fine otherwise, does this seem normal? Is the bend at the top supposed to be there? Maybe this is binding?

I reconnected the linkage and that shifts effortlessly. The fluid removed from the LU was dark blue but transparent.
Thanks,
Kevin

 

[Benny1963]

Re: 1988 Johnson 150HP Difficulty Shifting

thats good no water intrusion it takes a little pressure to shift mine with it off
change the seal washers on the fill and vent screw and put it back together
i find it easier in reverse . its hard to get it to shift by grabbing it with something at rod but you should be able to shift it at the arm .
may check water pump or change while its off .its the most valuable info
i have gotten yet as it just cost me a power head due to overheat,
although it was a new pump that stopped up but the impellars are cheap compared to a power head
glad to see that you have gotten it on its way
bennyb

 

[sparkybell627]

Re: 1988 Johnson 150HP Difficulty Shifting

Thanks Benny, hopefully can find where the binding is occurring on re-assembly. Already have the water pump. For $40 it's definitely a no brainer. The old and new are behind the LU in the pic. The fins on the old are quite bent, so I can see they're a weak point. I noticed that pulling it up into reverse was a tad bit easier too. I'll put 'er back together and see if something jumps out at me now that I see how everything works.

 

[19TarponGW]

Re: 1988 Johnson 150HP Difficulty Shifting

Test run after reassembly.

Upon close inspection the gasket around the shift shaft was hard, cracking and quite dry, along with some corrosion around the shift shaft was the culprit. I sanded the shaft smooth and greased for re-assembly.

While putting it back together I noticed the exhaust gasket was pinched on the back side. Running yesterday it was noticeably more when the exhaust gasket is installed correctly. I'm enjoying our fortune this time in that just replacing the water pump and all the included gaskets solved the issue of not going into either gear and a stiff shifting.

Thanks TD, rodbolt and Benny for the motivation and suggestions.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1988 Johnson 150HP Difficulty Shifting

glad you are up and running.