1960 Fastwin 18HP Is this Normal? shifting

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Tom Maslar

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tank testing my motor i occasionally when it was not running would cycle through reverse neutal and forward and have the motor lock itself out of cycling from neutral to forward unless I manually rotated the prop just a little bit. when running it will sometimes not drop out of gear when shifted to neutral unless I go past neutral to reverse and then back to neutral. I thought maybe the rpms are to high at shift idle for the thing to drop out of gear in that case? am totally stumped--its connected properly at the shift bar coupler.
 
kfa4303

kfa4303

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Re: 1960 Fastwin 18HP Is this Normal? shifting

HI Tom. I sometimes have to manually wiggle the prop a bit to cycle through the gears with the motor off, but if it's not smooth while the motor is running, you may want to shift at a lower rpm and/or try adjusting the lower shift rod linkage. Does the motor ever fall out of gear while running, or feel like you're hitting a submerged object? If so, that's usually the sign of a worn clutch dog.

Here's a vid of a similar motor to yours in a test tank to give you an idea of what it should be like.

Johnson 20HP Outboard - YouTube
 
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Tom Maslar

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Re: 1960 Fastwin 18HP Is this Normal? shifting

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kfa4303 said:
HI Tom. I sometimes have to manually wiggle the prop a bit to cycle through the gears with the motor off, but if it's not smooth while the motor is running, you may want to shift at a lower rpm and/or try adjusting the lower shift rod linkage. Does the motor ever fall out of gear while running, or feel like you're hitting a submerged object? If so, that's usually the sign of a worn clutch dog.

Here's a vid of a similar motor to yours in a test tank to give you an idea of what it should be like.

Johnson 20HP Outboard - YouTube
Click to expand...


Hey, how are you? ....nope she never falls out of gear. The lower rod does not appear to be adjustable because a stainless screw goes through the coupler and passes through a detent in the shift rod which locks it in place. Thanks for the vid...I will check it out. I pulled the carb and broke it down today. The float is original cork, pitted and heavy varnish. The needle is original with no retaining spring. The packing on both jets was roached and the intake gasket was hard as a rock. Also the grommet on the stem inside was toast. I pulled the core plug and it was spotless inside so that was good. The low speed jet has a point but not like a dart? The high speed is weird , like a bullnose and I have nothing to compare it to for effectiveness in the service manual.
 
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HighTrim

HighTrim

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Re: 1960 Fastwin 18HP Is this Normal? shifting

Your needles sound normal.

The shift handle may need minor adjusting. As stated, needing to spin the prop to shift when the motor is off is totally normal
 
kfa4303

kfa4303

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Re: 1960 Fastwin 18HP Is this Normal? shifting

Hello again Tom. The blunt nose on the hi speed needle is normal, whereas the low speed needle should have a very fine point. I would suggest you replace the old, cork float as well. They break down over time and release bits and pieces that can clog the carb passages. There should also be a very small, bent wire that holds the float needle in place. A carb rebuild kit will come with all new packings, washers and gaskets you'll need. As for the lover shift rod, you should be able to remove the lower bolt in the sjift rod coupler to allow you to make adjustments to the lower shift rod as needed. While it may appear to be ok at a glance, they often times need to be adjust ed a bit. To get a good coupling, I remove the lower bolt of the coupler then flip the motor into FWD using the gear select lever. This should separate the upper and lower shift rods. Although, you may need to hold on to the lower rod with a pair of needle nose pliers for good measure. At this point the two halves should be separated. You can now press down on the lower shift rod to put the LU into REV. You can check by turning the prop counterclickwise unitl you fell it catch. Once REV is confirmed, pull up slightly on the shift rod to put the LU into NEU in which case the prop should spin freely in either direction, after it is confirmed tug up on the shift rod and test that the LU is in FWD, confirm by rotating clockwise. Once all of the gears are confirmed you can reconnect the upper and lower shift rods. Start by tugging up on the lower shift rod and holding it in place with the needle nose pliers. Next, lower the upper shift rod onto the lower one, by putting the motor into REV. At this point the the bevel in the lower rod should be aligned with the lower bolt hole in the coupler as you described. If so, replace the coupler bolt taking care not to strip the threads. You should now be able to cycle though each of the gears manually. It's tricky to do all of this through the small, oval window on the side of the motor, but that's what it's there for and it's not so bad once you get used to it.
 
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Tom Maslar

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Jul 29, 2011
Messages
137
Re: 1960 Fastwin 18HP Is this Normal? shifting

My low speed needle is faced on the point, I assume from bottoming out. The flat face of the point is at the very tip and small in diameter. I am hoping this is not an issue because the needle is thirty two dollars.
 
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