Just rebuilt a lower end on 1965 Ski Twin

[1946Zephyr]

Had another one of these "jumping out of gear" motors. This motor just happened to prove one of my earlier points about this issue. Don't automatically assume that it's a clutch dog creating the problem. The guy that brought me the motor went to a dealor/mechanic and they quoated him $400 for parts and not counting labor. I laughed and told him to bring it on over. Well, I had to re-seal the lower unit anyhow, because when I dropped the drain plug, a buch of nice clear water ran out and then some yucky grey gear lube. Well, once I had the lower end off, I checked the upper shift rod and sure enough, there was more slop in it, than the law would allow. I have to pull the powerhead and tighten the bellcrank bolt that holds the shift linkage. Bottom line is guys.....look here first, before you condemn the bottom end stuff. This is a common problem on these old type I lower units and this is where I usually check first, before I tear anything down. I only tore this one down, because the seals were shot and it had a large supply of water intrusion. Fortunately though, all the gears and bearings looked good and this ol' boy won't be out anything, but a re-seal kit.

Had he went to the original place that gave him the quoats, they would have missed the real problem, most likely.