Johnson 9.5 lower unit wont come off

[angelo1369]

I have a 1969 Johnson 9R69S. It hasn't been run in about 10 years. I got it to start after a carb rebuild and new points. I wanted to replace the water pump for good measure before getting it on the water. I drained the oil and removed the four bolts that secured the lower unit. Acording to my manual the lower unit should drop an inch to access the shift linkage. My problem is it only drops about a quarter inch. I can plainly see that the shift linkage is not holding it up. On the exploded diagrams the only other thing is the driveshaft. Any ideas for freeing up a stuck driveshaft without causing alot of damage?
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Daviet]

Re: Johnson 9.5 lower unit wont come off

What gear do you have it in, shift it into reverse and see if it will drop down enough to remove the bolt in the coupler.

 

[angelo1369]

Re: Johnson 9.5 lower unit wont come off

I have it in reverse and I still cant get at the coupler. I think that the driveshaft is stuck.

 

[Daviet]

Re: Johnson 9.5 lower unit wont come off

Normally if the drive shaft is seized in the crankshaft the lower unit will not move at all.
You might try standing it on the flywheel and squirting some type of penatraiting oil onto the drive shaft and let it run down the driveshaft onto the crank, might help.

 

[angelo1369]

Re: Johnson 9.5 lower unit wont come off

I'm going to try PB blaster and a dead blow hammer tomorrow.

 

[angelo1369]

Re: Johnson 9.5 lower unit wont come off

Well there is good news and bad news on the johnson. The good news is that the lower unit is off. The bad news is that the driveshaft is stuck in the power head. The impeller pin sheared off and took a nice piece out of the impeller housing. The motor is currently sitting upside down with the driveshaft soaking in WD-40. Anyone have an idea how to get the driveshaft out? I really dont want this to becone more of a disaster than it already is.

 

[Daviet]

Re: Johnson 9.5 lower unit wont come off

With the lower unit off, try tapping on the drive shaft and see if it will break loose. I have used an air hammer on the SIDE of the driveshaft to vibrate the shaft in the crank, sometimes it works and sometimes it don't.

 

[angelo1369]

Re: Johnson 9.5 lower unit wont come off

Well, I went at the driveshaft with a hammer and its still stuck. I even grabbed it with vise grips and tried to pry it. Its really in there. I fear this is not going to end well.

 

[Daviet]

Re: Johnson 9.5 lower unit wont come off

Patience, you will get it. Keep applying penatraiting oil and working at it. If all else fails, pull the power head and use some heat.

 

[Tagged]

Re: Johnson 9.5 lower unit wont come off

I just went through the same thing with a '78 9.9. See my thread titled " quickly losing patience" for all the great ideas that others offered me.

I hung it from the rafters by a rope tied to the driveshaft, and soaked it in penetrating oil every night for a week. I tapped, rapped, and banged on the side and bottom with a plastic mallet. I pulled the power head and applied heat to the driveshaft. I put vice grips around the driveshaft and beat on those.

But what fInally did it was pulling the flywheel, tying a rope from the crankshaft to a tree, attaching a come-along to the driveshaft and another tree, and pulling till I thought I was going to break the crankshaft. With the whole contraption as tight as a harp, I sprayed penetrating oil and tapped the side of the shaft, and POP! It finally came out.

It was a two week process.

Good luck, and try not to lose patience. That's when things break.

 

[angelo1369]

Re: Johnson 9.5 lower unit wont come off

I just went through the same thing with a '78 9.9. See my thread titled " quickly losing patience" for all the great ideas that others offered me.

I hung it from the rafters by a rope tied to the driveshaft, and soaked it in penetrating oil every night for a week. I tapped, rapped, and banged on the side and bottom with a plastic mallet. I pulled the power head and applied heat to the driveshaft. I put vice grips around the driveshaft and beat on those.

But what fInally did it was pulling the flywheel, tying a rope from the crankshaft to a tree, attaching a come-along to the driveshaft and another tree, and pulling till I thought I was going to break the crankshaft. With the whole contraption as tight as a harp, I sprayed penetrating oil and tapped the side of the shaft, and POP! It finally came out.

It was a two week process.

Good luck, and try not to lose patience. That's when things break.

I read your thread and I'm going to try applying some tension with a winch. no guts, no glory.

 

[angelo1369]

Re: Johnson 9.5 lower unit wont come off

SUCCESS!!! I put a little tension on the driveshaft with some ratchet straps and rapped on the side of it with a hammer. Thanks for all the great ideas.