1967 johnson 20hp shifter linkage check procedure?

[jay42782]

can someone please guide me through the process when they get some time?i have spent alot getting this boat and motor ready for duck season.i took it out for the first time..shut it down a few times just to make sure everthing was in working order.thw whole time it ran at my house in a can it showed no signs of shifting problems.the last time i shut it down on the first trail run in the water..i lost forward.nuetral works.reverse works..then when i put it in drive it goes back to reverse? there are no signs of grinding of the gears whatsoever.thanks for your time!!

 

[jay42782]

Re: 1967 johnson 20hp shifter linkage check procedure?

i took the 2 screw oval plate off next to the exhaust outlet.inside everything seems to be in working order.any suggestions? thank you

 

[F_R]

Re: 1967 johnson 20hp shifter linkage check procedure?

When you put it in forward gear, it should raise the rod behind that oval plate. Reverse pushes it down. Neutral in the center. There should be no slop or lost motion. When you move the shifer lever, the rod should move.

If that is happening, and it doesn't correspond to what gear it is really in, then something is amiss in the gearcase. I can't imagine what it could be that would cause it to be in reverse when it should be in forward. That is almost impossible. Maybe somebody took the phillips screw out and the linkage inside fell apart?

 

[jay42782]

Re: 1967 johnson 20hp shifter linkage check procedure?

When you put it in forward gear, it should raise the rod behind that oval plate. Reverse pushes it down. Neutral in the center. There should be no slop or lost motion. When you move the shifer lever, the rod should move.

If that is happening, and it doesn't correspond to what gear it is really in, then something is amiss in the gearcase. I can't imagine what it could be that would cause it to be in reverse when it should be in forward. That is almost impossible. Maybe somebody took the phillips screw out and the linkage inside fell apart?

ok.i will dig deeper tomorrow.thank you

 

[lbentz]

Re: 1967 johnson 20hp shifter linkage check procedure?

Yep, if you look inside where the little oval plate is, on the motor leg, you should see the shift rod coupler. If infact you find the shift rod had come out of the coupler, this would be a good time to see if there is any slop, on the upper portion of the shift rod. just grab the upper portion of the shift rod and wiggle it in a straight up and down motion, to see if there is any play. A lot of time, on these motors, the bolt, that attaches the upper portion of the shift rod, to the bell crank will get loose and therefore causing problems with shifting and jumping out of gear. I have had customers in the past, who have torn apart their lower units and brought them to me, because of this and it wasn't the lower unit at all. The bell crank, is right below the powerhead, where the shift lever shaft goes into the motor leg.

 

[jay42782]

Re: 1967 johnson 20hp shifter linkage check procedure?

ok....got home today and messed with the motor and cant seem to get it out of reverse.i pulled the oval plate off to find 2 10mm bolts conected to the shift rod.everything is tight and no loose movement.any ideas what to check next?
thanks!

 

[jay42782]

Re: 1967 johnson 20hp shifter linkage check procedure?

anybody?

 

[eavega]

Re: 1967 johnson 20hp shifter linkage check procedure?

Pull the lower bolt off of the coupler, and free the lower shift shaft. With needle nose pliers, verify that you can freely move the shift shaft. If you can't, your problem is in your gear case. Wiggle your prop some by hand, and see if that loosens the shift shaft and allows it to move up and down freely. If it still doesn't, then something is jammed in there, and you're gonna have to open the gearcase to figure that out. If it easily moves up and down, and now correctly engages and disengages the gears as you move it up and down over its range, your problem is not there. With the coupler still disengaged, try to move the shift lever and observe that the rod and coupler move up and down smoothly, and the shifter 'snaps' to each position (forward, neutral, reverse). There is a spring which causes the shifter to hold pressure against a guide that tells you when you are in each gear. If it moves smoothly and all that checks out, then re-connect the coupler to the shift rod. Take care that you insert the shift rod all the way through the coupler such that the groove at the tip of the rod lines up with the bolt. The best way I have found to do this is to set the gear shift in forward gear which raises the coupler as high as it goes. Hold the lower shift rod with the needle nose pliers and bring it up to the coupler. Hold the lower shift rod and put the lever into neutral, which will lower it onto the shift rod, until it correctly aligns the groove in the shift rod with the holes in the coupler. insert and tighten the bolt, and you should be good to go.

-Eric

 

[jay42782]

Re: 1967 johnson 20hp shifter linkage check procedure?

wow..eric you da man!!
thank you very much! i will do the steps you gave when i get home tomorrow.i should have stated before that the shift rod will come out of the reverse position but it will not disingage from reverse.if i i move the shifter arm from the top i can get it into nuetral but thats it.in other words while the boat is going in reverse i can move the shift lever to forward very easily like it should but it stays in reverse.then if i switch it to nuetral just right it will go sometimes but no forward.thanks again.tomorrow i will do your steps provided.