1973 85HP Johnson outboard won't go into gear

[fmanerchia]

Hi everyone. I have a 85 hp Johnson (Model 85ESL-73M, Serial # J3856855) that stopped going into gear, forward or reverse. My questions are, since it has a power assist cylinder, could this be caused by too little/no gear fluid? (That was my really stupid question.) <br /> My second question is, if it's a fluid issue, could I pump a few onces into the overflow hole as opposed to the drain hole? (Apparently, I have more than one stupid question.) ;-)<br /> I'm trying to avoid taking the boat out of the water. It's at a vacation place and (as far as I know) it hasn't been touched since last month when it ran fine. It started up fine but the gearshift lever wouldn't go into forward and only slightly towards reverse. Neither gear engaged. When I lift the engine up out of the water while it's running, the propellor is turning. Should I be able to move the shift rod connector/bellcrank if the cable is disconnected? Would the engine need to be running? I'm trying to determine if it's a cabling problem or not but the shift lever was damaged in the remote control box, so right now the cable can't be tested. <br />Thanks for your patience and help.<br />Frank

 

[Cricket Too]

Re: 1973 85HP Johnson outboard won't go into gear

Frank...Welcome to iboats. First off it's not really a good idea to run the engine out of the water as you run your water pump impeller without any water/librication and damage it. Try disconnecting the cable and see if you can shift into gear, not sure if it needs to be running but you can try it both ways, that way you can determine if it's your cable.

 

[fmanerchia]

Re: 1973 85HP Johnson outboard won't go into gear

Cricket Too,<br /> I only lifted it out of the water to see if the prop was turning and then put it right back down. I tried disconnecting the shift cable from the engine but at that time my muscle-bound brother-in-law forced the shifter forward and busted the middle tooth off of my shift lever in the control box. I just replaced the shift lever and am hoping to be able to disconnect the cable again to locate the failure. (I have MS and getting out of the boat after working on it is a chore, to say the least, so my efforts are limited.) I pulled the cotter pin from the top of the vertical rod that connects to the bellcrank and tried to lift the bellcrank up and down. Is this a good test of whether the shift rod is actually moving or would I have to actually disconnect the cable and push where the cable should be pushing? It seems that when I had the cable disconnected from the engine, I couldn't move the shifter handle at the remote or the bellcrank at the engine and this is what's really throwing me.<br /> Thanks

 

[McGR]

Re: 1973 85HP Johnson outboard won't go into gear

Frank, the assist cylinder does as the name suggests, it assists the shifting on your l/u. However, this style lower unit will shift regardless of presence of fluid or not (unlike the earlier hydro-electrics which required fluid pressure for shifting). Here's how I would test your gearcase:<br /><br />1. Remove the spark plugs.<br />2. Remove the shift cable<br />3. Rotate the motor slowly by hand by turning the flywheel clockwise.<br />4. While rotating the flywheel move the arm that connects to the shift cable.<br />5. Observe the prop (or shaft). <br /> - at one extreme you should have clockwise rotation. <br /> - at the other extreme you should have counter-clockwise rotation.<br /> - somewhere in between you should have no rotation (neutral)<br /><br />If the l/u behaves as described, it's most likely OK and you have a control or cable issue. <br /><br />Note: Be sure the key switch is in the off position so you do not create sparks that could ignite fuel discharged from the cylinders during this test.

 

[fmanerchia]

Re: 1973 85HP Johnson outboard won't go into gear

McGR,<br /> Thanks for the advice. I was able to disconnect the shift cable and the problem seems to be in the lower end. The control unit was able to move into forward and reverse positions and the disconnected cable moved easily. I couldn't move the mechanism that the cable would have moved. So, it seems that my worst fears have been realized.<br /> Any clues as to what could be the problem down below or how to troubleshoot the lower end? <br />Thanks in advance,<br /> Frank