early 80's 35hp johnson lower unit? maybe.

[brunolund]

quick background- a friend bought this boat at an auction, and asked me to fix it. the lower unit was in pieces when he dropped it off. hasn't ran since the gears were stripped, approx ten years.
couple of questions, first, is there a way to find out what year this motor is? the mounting bracket has been changed, looks as though it is from an evinrude from 1979 according to the model number. parts diagrams do not look the same as this lower unit. diagrams from an 84 do look the same, but its just a guess there. this one has the shift rod that connects between two plastic intake screens.
also, using the parts diagram for an 84, i need the two screws that hold the bearing housing?carrier in. can somebody tell me what size those are so i can go to bolt supply and get them there. also the retaining ring is missing. does anyone know if i can get the right size from a farm supply store? what is the right size?
and before i spend any money, any problem trying to start this motor without the lower on? i know to only run for a short while because no cooling, but without the water pump to melt, is there any other reason i can't attemp to fire it up for a few seconds to see if this is even worth working on?

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: early 80's 35hp johnson lower unit? maybe.

Look for a welch plug, silver convex disc about the size of a nickel, on the cylinder block. It should have the model number on it, which will in turn give you the year.

You need to get the actual carrier bolts for the lower unit. They are a special design with a ridge machined into the bolt face to accomodate an o-ring.

And, no, there shouldn't be an issue with running the motor sans unit. Just keep the RPM down as it may run away if you goose it.