Johnson 35 hp trouble

[Redeemed]

I'm a rookie who needs help. I just bought my first boat. It's a jon boat with a Johnson 35 hp (~1983). The guy I bought it from fully disclosed that it hadn't been run consistently in a few years and when he ran it last month he had some trouble getting it to engage gears and the throttle would race unpredictably. I put it in today and had the same thing. I eased 300-400 yards from the ramp and it jumped out of forward and the engine raced. After that I only got it in gear one more time and it did the same thing. As I said, this is my first boat, so I'm looking for any ideas. I'm hoping I don't need a whole lower unit, but whatever help anyone has would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Chad

 

[offshore100]

Re: Johnson 35 hp trouble

Hi Chad,

Sounds like your nubs on your clutch dog are worn. Pretty common.
Unfortunately you'll have to go into the gearcase to fix it.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Johnson 35 hp trouble

Chad, welcome to iboats. order a manual from outboardbooks.com. we need to do some trouble shooting. will it stay in gear in reverse. are you using remote controls or shifting manually at the motor.

 

[Redeemed]

Re: Johnson 35 hp trouble

Wow, thanks for getting back to me, guys! I was getting a little worried that no one would reply. Unfortunately (being new to all this), I dropped it off at a local marina to have them take a look at it, so I don't have model/serial number to order a manual, but that just became my number one priority. I'm going to go pick it up and bring it home because they can't even look at it for over two weeks!

It won't stay in gear in reverse either. All shifting was done remotely from the console. I grew up around boats but never paid attention during the important parts (when stuff went wrong). I'm not afraid of learning/screwing up. I've done some basic stuff on automotive engines and I'm hoping to learn something along the way here. I feel like i got a great deal on this rig and I don't want to ruin it by sinking a million bucks into some repair that I should be able to figure out.

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: Johnson 35 hp trouble

Chad, it's also possible that you have a spun hub in the prop. That would be considerably cheaper than lower unit repair.

 

[plutz]

Re: Johnson 35 hp trouble

Chad, Thanks for the post. I got on this forum for exactly the same problem and this also is my very first boat. I have a 1980 35hp Evenrude. It pops out of forward underway and more oftem as I increase speed. Not sure of reverse. I did disconnect the control at the motor and it popped out again so it must be in the motor. I'll watch for your responses guys as I await my service manual.

Paul

 

[Redeemed]

Re: Johnson 35 hp trouble

Well, I was feeling pretty good until I looked up the clutch dog and saw that huge exploded diagram. I'm still not daunted, but I'm very respectful of all the knowledge you all have. Y'all are amazing. I also realize I definitely need a manual.

 

[Redeemed]

Re: Johnson 35 hp trouble

Okay, here's where we are... I found a local guy who works on these motors as a hobby and side business. I took it to him this morning because this is my first rodeo and I wanted an informed opinion while I'm sorting through all this. He tore down the lower unit and the spindle gear was about 50% shot and the cradle was NON-EXISTENT. I don't mean it was beaten up. I mean it wasn't there. I'm kind of wondering if maybe it was "eaten" somewhere a long the way. There were plenty of metal shavings in the housing. Anybody ever heard of a situation like this? At this point, I'm about to drop about $400 for parts and he's going to rebuild it for me for $100. I'm hanging out in the peanut gallery and learning as I go.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: Johnson 35 hp trouble

Try and find a used LU or gears on ebay.

 

[Redeemed]

Re: Johnson 35 hp trouble

I looked for LUs and gear sets. I had no luck.

 

[strikeback03]

Re: Johnson 35 hp trouble

Go to the Bombardier site (here) and look up the part numbers you need, then try searching those numbers on Ebay.

The slots on the cradle in one of my LUs were pretty much worn away. That setup didn't stay in gear well either.

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: Johnson 35 hp trouble

Redeemed, I compared P/N's for '77 and '83 and the ones I compared were the same (clutch dog, pinion gear, prop shaft, etc.).

 

[offshore100]

Re: Johnson 35 hp trouble

Okay, here's where we are... I found a local guy who works on these motors as a hobby and side business. I took it to him this morning because this is my first rodeo and I wanted an informed opinion while I'm sorting through all this. He tore down the lower unit and the spindle gear was about 50% shot and the cradle was NON-EXISTENT. I don't mean it was beaten up. I mean it wasn't there. I'm kind of wondering if maybe it was "eaten" somewhere a long the way. There were plenty of metal shavings in the housing. Anybody ever heard of a situation like this? At this point, I'm about to drop about $400 for parts and he's going to rebuild it for me for $100. I'm hanging out in the peanut gallery and learning as I go.

keep us posted, deemer.
When you say "spindle gear," do you mean, pinion gear? Wow. Sounds like somebody went into the gearcase and forgot to do something before buttoning back up.

 

[Redeemed]

Re: Johnson 35 hp trouble

Sorry, yes, pinion gear. (What a noob I am) Anyway, I did find the gear on ebay for less than retail. I can't find any of the other stuff at all. I found the water pump kit but it was no cheaper than other places. I want to get this thing in the water so bad!

There were a couple slightly chipped teeth on the reverse gear. No teeth missing and the imperfections were small. Do you think they should be replaced?

Thanks for all the advice...

 

[Redeemed]

Re: Johnson 35 hp trouble

Go to the Bombardier site (here) and look up the part numbers you need, then try searching those numbers on Ebay.

The slots on the cradle in one of my LUs were pretty much worn away. That setup didn't stay in gear well either.

Thanks, Strikeback. This was great advice. This was how I found two of the parts.

 

[strikeback03]

Re: Johnson 35 hp trouble

no problem.

Depends how much you use reverse. I'd be inclined to try it, but someone who has more experience at this might suggest otherwise.

 

[Noose]

Re: Johnson 35 hp trouble

This sounds to be a common problem in theearly 80's engines. I too just picked up a 16' boat with a 35 hp and the last owner told me the boats last voyage ended up returning to the dock in reverse! I 've been looking for answers, looks like I found the right place!