'56 Evinrude 30hp coming out of gear

[greatoutdoors]

Re: '56 Evinrude 30hp coming out of gear

So is that just a simple bolt on process? Or is there more to it?

 

[lindy46]

Re: '56 Evinrude 30hp coming out of gear

Remove the 6 or so bolts that hold the lower unit to the leg, and the big bolt at the rear of the motor that goes in from the top. Then remove the little plate on the side of the leg to access the shift rod coupler. Remove the bottom bolt from the coupler. This will free up the lower shift rod, and the lower unit can then be removed. When putting it back together, make sure to grease the splines on the top of the driveshaft (just the splines, not the top) and make sure the water tube inserts properly into the rubber grommet on the water pump housing. Put the shift lever in forward, and re-install the bolts. Now, carefully move the shift lever to neutral or reverse until the lower shift rod slips back in the coupler. Make sure the notch in the end of the shift rod lines up with the bolt hole in the coupler, as the bolt must pass through the notch for it to tighten up properly and for the engine to shift properly. Re-insert bolt, tighten it, and you're done.

 

[greatoutdoors]

Re: '56 Evinrude 30hp coming out of gear

Doesn't sound too bad. Thanks.

 

[greatoutdoors]

Re: '56 Evinrude 30hp coming out of gear

Ok, so I popped off the lower unit and drained the oil. It was greenish yellow and had the consistency of chocolate milk. I'm guessing that is bad. I couldn't get the screws out of the very bottom to snoop around in there but I would imagine it's shot due to the oil condition. The driveshaft that was in there looked fine on both ends. Can I reuse that one if it looks better than the other one on the Johnson? Do you guys agree that that lower unit is shot on this one and it will work after I install the other one? Thanks. Tips appreciated as well.

 

[greatoutdoors]

Re: '56 Evinrude 30hp coming out of gear

Top posting.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: '56 Evinrude 30hp coming out of gear

Ok, so I popped off the lower unit and drained the oil. It was greenish yellow and had the consistency of chocolate milk. I'm guessing that is bad. I couldn't get the screws out of the very bottom to snoop around in there but I would imagine it's shot due to the oil condition. The long splined rod that was in there looked fine on both ends. Can I reuse that one if it looks better than the other one on the Johnson? Do you guys agree that that lower unit is shot on this one and it will work after I install the other one? Thanks. Tips appreciated as well.

If the driveshaft is in good condition it can be reused but the other will probably be ok also. You cant's get the skeg off? That's rare. Do you have one of those hammer type impact drivers for screws? They work great and are only like $10 or so... They will remove those screws... Or just do the straight swap with the 25 to get back on the water asap...

 

[greatoutdoors]

Re: '56 Evinrude 30hp coming out of gear

I have a powerful air compressor drill that would probably work for those screws. Couldn't get it by hand. I just wanted to look around in there to become familiar with how the lower units are constructed. I'm going to swap it over cuz I need to catch some bucketmouths and smallies asap. They're going to start feeding up for the winter soon!

 

[samo_ott]

Re: '56 Evinrude 30hp coming out of gear

Th is what the '56 Johnson 30 LU looks like...

 

[greatoutdoors]

Re: '56 Evinrude 30hp coming out of gear

Thank you very much.

 

[Willyclay]

Re: '56 Evinrude 30hp coming out of gear

If you need a service manual for that motor, send me a Private Message with your email address and I will respond with the manual attached.

 

[greatoutdoors]

Re: '56 Evinrude 30hp coming out of gear

Today, I tried to swap the lower units. I thought I put everything together perfectly, but forward gear is neutral and neutral is reverse and I cannot get the lever to go into the reverse position being that the shift rod in the lower unit is already all the way down when the lever is in neutral. What do I do?

 

[samo_ott]

Re: '56 Evinrude 30hp coming out of gear

Assuming you put it back together correct, the shifter needs adjusting. There are screws on the mechanical shifter that loosen it up. Then move the shift rod up or down thru the oval port on the side, and then tighten it back up.

 

[greatoutdoors]

Re: '56 Evinrude 30hp coming out of gear

Assuming you put it back together correct, the shifter needs adjusting. There are screws on the mechanical shifter that loosen it up. Then move the shift rod up or down thru the oval port on the side, and then tighten it back up.

Will the shift lever come completely off so I could move the shift rod up a little inside the leg somehow? I adjusted the lever a little by loosening the bolt and screw but it wasn't enough to get the shift rod to move up enough iside the leg to get it to engage in forward gear.

 

[cougar1985]

Re: '56 Evinrude 30hp coming out of gear

if you ever decide you need a clutch dog, part number is 0375783 and is readily availble from brp dealer .took a day for me to get mine.try that with other brands and see where you get!

 

[samo_ott]

Re: '56 Evinrude 30hp coming out of gear

Will the shift lever come completely off so I could move the shift rod up a little inside the leg somehow? I adjusted the lever a little by loosening the bolt and screw but it wasn't enough to get the shift rod to move up enough iside the leg to get it to engage in forward gear.

No, the shift lever does not come off. It cant as it's connected on the inside. Just loosen the screws a tad and then you can move the shift rod up or down to where it should be. I was doing that on my '55 E15hp today.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: '56 Evinrude 30hp coming out of gear

Steve...are you talking about the external shift lever or the bell-crank shift lever inside under the powerhead?

 

[samo_ott]

Re: '56 Evinrude 30hp coming out of gear

I'm Talking about the external shift lever. It has adjusting screws on it. But I did just change the bell crank on my 15 as it was very sloppy. Had to yank the power head for that.

 

[greatoutdoors]

Re: '56 Evinrude 30hp coming out of gear

I'm Talking about the external shift lever. It has adjusting screws on it. But I did just change the bell crank on my 15 as it was very sloppy. Had to yank the power head for that.

The shift lever does come off on this one. Just have to remove the screw and bolt and it will slide off. Even when I move the bell crank all the way to the clockwise position with the lever off, it still will not engage in forward. I'm missing by about an eighth of an inch. It's just in between neutral and forward. If I can move the lower shift rod up an eighth of an inch in that brass colored coupler in the leg, it should do the trick, correct? I just need it to pull it up a little higher. What do you guys think?

 

[subtleaccents]

Re: '56 Evinrude 30hp coming out of gear

I know this is an old post and I am new to the forum but I also have a 56 Johnson 30 HP RD-18 since 1962. I had the problem of jumping in a out of
forward. I dropped the lower unit housing and found that the engagement
slide gear had the teeth rounded over on the forward side. The reverse side had all sharp edges.
I turned the sliding gear around and reinstalled it. That solved the problem for
forward movement. In reverse it didn't jump unless I used an excessive amount of throttle. Allowed me time to buy another slider gear. When I checked the shift rod I found a slight misadjustment had caused my problem.
They are a very resiliant piece of equipment. I miss the reliability and simplicity of those older motors.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: '56 Evinrude 30hp coming out of gear

Moving the shift rod higher in the coupler isn't an option because of the groove in the rod, which has to align with the hole in the coupler in order for the retaining bolt to fit and tighten. Have you tried spinning the prop when it won't engage F? The clutch dog may not be engaging fully.