1958 Evinrude 35 hp upper shift rod broke...

[58CorrySuburban]

I just bought a 1958 Evinrude Big Twin 35hp, that came with a motionless/stuck shift lever. It also happened to be a long shaft, and the fact that I needed to make it a short shaft, meant that I needed to seperate the upper shift rod from the lower shift rod anyway. The bolts on the clamp connecting the upper and lower shift rod, snaped when I tried to loosen them, and I couldn't drill/work with them through the acces hole while they were in the housing. So I dropped the lower unit, and even though I had supported it while it was hanging to prevent tension on the top of the upper shift rod, as I drilled the bolts out, I noticed a loss of tension in the shift rods (not a snap, more subtle) and the shift arm gained full movement, but only effected the upper shift rod if I applied an upward force. So...question one. Do I have to remove the powerhead, on a motor that runs fine so far, risk snapping off S/S bolts set into aluminum (having to drill/tap them) or is their another way? The second question is: When changing from a long shaft to a short shaft is it the upper or lower shift rod length that must be changed? This is the first motor, outboard or otherwise, I have worked on. I have a feeling that if I look at a manual, I'll read bad news. I just don't want to mess up all of the settings on this 50 year old motor that runs fine unless that is the only way. I have read many posting, and if it wasn't for all of the knowledge shared here, I honestly, don't think that I could have ever taken on a project like this.

 

[freddyray21]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 hp upper shift rod broke...

It is my understanding that the difference in the shift rods it the shift rod connector. The long shaft has a longer connector and the short shaft well a shorter one. Does your upper shift rod move up and down? Sounds like it does not which means pulling the power head. If it's never been off I recommend soaking the mounting bolts with PB blaster or some such first.

 

[58CorrySuburban]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 hp upper shift rod broke...

The clamp is only 1 in. long (as a long shaft) so I'm sure that either the upper or lower shift rod will have to be shortened. I'm hoping that it is the upper shift rod since it will probably have to be replace anyway. I have been spraying the power head mounting bolts with blast twice a day for the last few days in preperationn for bad news. I really don't want to mess around with the 50 year old settings, wiring, fuel lines, and old bolts unless I have to. Can I access the shift lever assembly by disconnecting from the lower cowling, and therefore not mess with the actual motor?

 

[CATransplant]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 hp upper shift rod broke...

Unfortunately, it is necessary to remove the power head to access the upper shift rod on that engine. Since a long shaft had a connector that was 6" long, and the short shaft had one just 1" long, someone has jerry-rigged your unit somehow when converting it to a long shaft. Probably what was done was to make a longer upper shaft and reuse the short connector. This was probably done to save money, since the long connector is pretty pricey.

Unless your engine was used in salt water, I would not anticipate all that much trouble with pulling the power head. Use care when removing the bolts, of course, and don't force anything.

While you're working on that assembly, check the components of the shift handle and its attached parts carefully and replace any badly worn parts, since the power head also has to be removed to service them.

You really need the factory service manual before taking on this job.

Finally, is this an RDS-20 or one of the holdover RD-19Cs?

 

[58CorrySuburban]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 hp upper shift rod broke...

So, the difference between the origional short shaft shift rod and the long shaft shift rod was only the clamp that linked them? How could one have accessed the upper and lower bolt on the clamp through the access hole? Unfortunately, being on the "Jersey Shore" I sure this motor has seen plenty of salt in its day. Seems funny that all the bolts connecting the short-long extension came out without a hitch, but the power head-lower cowling/mid unit bolts, seem very rusty. I have yet to even take a scerwdriver to them, maybe its only surface corrosion. Do you suggest getting the actual factory manual, or selco (like) manual? This is my first motor. Will the terms and phrasing of the "real deal" be over my head? And as far as RDS-20 or RD-19c, I have no idea what that even refers to, but I'm very interested. Thanks,

 

[rolmops]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 hp upper shift rod broke...

If you can get a hold of the factory manual,you will get all the info you need.
It was written for regular people not for wizards.
The Seloc manual is sufficient for these engines,but you will have to deal with a book that has a mix of information for different hp engines.
I have jerry rigged a few shift shafts in my day and my suspicion is that the rigged part has probably come loose.
Dropping the the exhaust housing is not a big deal.Just make sure to get the proper seals and a manual of your choice BEFORE you start. The seals are readily available.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 hp upper shift rod broke...

RD-19 or 20 is the model number, should be on a metal plate on the front/top of the transom clamp. An impact driver will help getting the bolts out, but let them soak, soak, soak with a penetrating oil. Did the shift rods move at all when the lever was moved? If not, could be that the top rod came undone on the bellcrank under the powerhead...another ugly scenario that requires removing the powerhead. But if the shift lever and upper shift rod move freely disconnected from the lower shift rod, it may mean you have a problem in the lower unit...can you move the lower rod up and down to move through F, N and R?

 

[Joe Reeves]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 hp upper shift rod broke...

The upper shift rod is always the same length. Think about it..... if you change the length of that rod, you change the position of the shift connector and would be unable to connect the two shift rods.

It is always the lower shift rod in the lower unit that requires changing or modifying. If the engine is presently a long shaft model and the brass shift connector is the short connector this rod needs to be replaced or modified.

It can be modified by carefully cutting off exactly 5" from it, then file a groove with a rat tail file in the idential position using the cut off portion as a guide/template. There is no need to file a groove all the way around the rod, it is needed only where the connector shift bolt will pass by it. And of course, dress up the top of the rod slightly to get rid of the sharp edges.

I'm somewhat at a loss to understand what happened to the upper shift rod due to the long single paragraph..... everything seems to run together when I attempt to read one of those (notice my paragraphs?). At any rate, if that upper rod needs to be looked at, the powerhead needs to be removed.

Just leave as much of the powerhead assembled as possible, it's really no big deal on that model. Study it for a few minutes or so.

Use a hand held propane torch to heat the alumium surrounding the tough bolts/screws. to help loosen them.

 

[58CorrySuburban]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 hp upper shift rod broke...

Are you saying that I can drop the lower portion (leaving all the hoses, wires, levers, tiny bolts, and cotter pins intact) and be able to access the nessary elements of the gear shift assembly? Great!!! Any Idea why the origional rigger would have chosen to rig the upper (far-less accessable) end of the upper shift rod? Also, I will definately be replaceing any and all nuts, bolts, gaskets, washers ect. to reflect manufacturers specs. I've just been a little uncertain about the manual to get, and would be a good match, for both me and the motor. Thanks again.

 

[58CorrySuburban]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 hp upper shift rod broke...

Mr. Joe Reeves,

For my first posting (above) I was unsure if this message board excepted spacing between paragraphs (some don't). I can certainly see how an eye or two could get crossed. Now, that I'm aware, I will certainly take advantage of the feature. It won't allow me to indent either. Thanks,

 

[58CorrySuburban]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 hp upper shift rod broke...

Mr. Tmcalavy,
The lower shift rod slides freely within the lower unit. Any adjustments in the verticle movement of the lower shift rod is quickly followed with the F, N, R, functions. I've been told that (when changing from Long-shaft to Short shaft, it must be the lower shift rod's length to be changed.

This makes sence because weather it is a long or short, the distance from the shift lever to the access hole (above the extension spacer) would have to stay the same, Yet, the distance from the gears in the lower unit would have to extend past the spacer to reach the access hatch.

 

[Joe Reeves]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 hp upper shift rod broke...

When you say/ask: "Any Idea why the origional rigger would have chosen to rig the upper (far-less accessable) end of the upper shift rod?"..... That sets me out in left field somewhere. Apparently I missed something.

Your first post has a line that reads: "as I drilled the bolts out, I noticed a loss of tension in the shift rods (not a snap, more subtle) and the shift arm gained full movement, but only effected the upper shift rod if I applied an upward force."..... This loses me also.

Guessing, I'd take a stab that you're saying that the upper shift rod came loose from the clevis under the powerhead, something of that nature.

Removing the powerhead...... of course you'll need to disconnect the fuel line that leads to the fuel pump. You'll also need to remove the vertical throttle lever on the port side and the vertical shift lock out lever on the starboard side along with disconnnecting a few wires, BUT the majority of the items can stay right where they are as part of the powerhead.

 

[58CorrySuburban]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 hp upper shift rod broke...

Thank you Mr. Joe Reves,

Once agian, sorry for my "rambling" un-spaced first post.

When I bought the motor as a long shaft, the shifter arm was siesed.
I figured (being new) that since I needed a short, I'll drop the lower end. Pull the longer drive shaft, replace it with the shorter one, check the impeller, and see what i needed to do with the shifting rods.

In the process of removing the 5" space, the upper end of the upper shift rod came loose/cracked/snaped and I stood up and inspected if the shifting arm which was now free.

Upon further inspection of the less visable upper portion of the upper shift rod, I realized that, though it was stainless steel, it had suffered substancial curosion. This is leading me to the conclusion... that if the visable stainless steel of the upper shift rod is so coroded, the parts I cant see (the ones directly connected to the shifting levers) have probably coroded to the point of failure.

Now the general consencesus is that I must remove the power head, but can leave most of the components in place (this is good news). Concern about breaking bolts should be minimal with penitrating oil, time, and an impact wrench.

So, Joe do you suggest just buying a new/used OEM spec upper shaft rod and have me or my machines chop the lower shift rod down by 5 in? I was thinking that I could measure 5.00" on the dot, and the distance down to the ridge (fits with clamp). Put one end in my drill spin it and make a ridge, then turn the drill back on to cut the final length.

I hope this hasn't been too confusing/out of format for my first post.
Thanks every body for the time, attention, effort, and expertise.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 hp upper shift rod broke...

Let's see if I can clear a couple of things up:

The difference between the 1958 RD-19C and the RDS-20 is that the RDS-20 has the separate external covers for the exhaust housing (the leg). It also has two water tubes coming out of the water pump housing. There are other differences, but those two will serve to identify the model.

Bottom line is that the company sold it's leftover 1957 RD-19's as new 1958 models, with the RD-19C designation. 1958 was the first year for the new design of 35hp models, starting with the RDS-20, so both models were available for that year.

The factory manual is definitely the one you need. It's available here on iboats.com. What you will get is the 1974 Master Manual, which has repair info on all the 1 and 2 cylinder outboards from the early days up to 1964. It's a great manual for anyone collecting OMC outboards. It's not cheap, though. As far as I know, you can't get just the manual for that year's engine.

As for the shift rod problem, you won't know what was done until you pull the powerhead and examine the components. Lots of folks do lots of strange things when working on outboards, I'm afraid, so you may have to go on a parts hunt, once you get the thing apart.

I've noticed your other issues with this outboard in other threads. It sounds to me like this is going to benefit from a pretty complete teardown to fix all those years of neglect.

Watch yourself on this, or you could find yourself into this outboard for far more than the thing is worth. 1958 35hps are pretty common out there, and even really nice running ones go for under $400 in most places.

It won't take too many parts to get you over that. If you got this one really cheaply, it might be worthwhile to make it a parts motor for one you find in better condition. It's worth thinking about.

 

[58CorrySuburban]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 hp upper shift rod broke...

Thanks for the recap,

I did get the motor very cheap, and was expecting to work on it over the winter, carbs, fuel lines, tune-up kit ect. But, you may be right.

Also, this motors water pump housing has only one tube coming from it that plugs into a sleeve higher up. I guess that makes this a "hold-over".

Thanks again for everyones' help,
Either way, I'll know my way around an outboard by projects end.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 hp upper shift rod broke...

Yup. You have an RD-19C. It's a very important thing to remember when you order parts. Make sure any parts you order are for that model, not for the RDS-20. In reality, you can look at the 1957 35hp models for parts, since they're the same as yours.

There were quite a few small changes between the RD-19 models and the RDS-20 models.

 

[58CorrySuburban]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 hp upper shift rod broke...

I came across a Selco manual on one of my trips, and picked it up. It lists both years (57/58) 35 hp as having an "access window" on the exaust housing, but I don't see it from the outside.

Is the upper part of the leg a cover for the exhaust housing, or is it considered, the actual exhaust housing?

Just trying to figure out if, after I remove the "shell" of the leg, will I then see an exhaust housing with a window that allows shift removal.

Thanks again,

 

[John Bussom]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 hp upper shift rod broke...

Looking at your motor from the prop end that window should be on the left side just above the yoke ? (lower mount housing) that holds the top leg, I can send a pic if you need it.

John

 

[58CorrySuburban]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 hp upper shift rod broke...

John,

That would be a big help.

It was suggested that I get the OEM manual, and I was going to, but when I came across the Selco I picked it up and have found that it lacks a lot of detail/specificity.

Thanks again,

 

[58CorrySuburban]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 hp upper shift rod broke...

Are you talking about the shift connector window (for disconnecting the upper shift rod from the lower shift rod)?

Ok now I see, this window is only for troubleshooting the rod, not fixing it.