Hello,
I'm having trouble with the shifting on my 1998 Johnson (model J50TSLECC). My brother broke one of the shift levers inside the cowling last fall, but did find a replacement. The part fits and appears to be the correct one, but the motor still does not shift into reverse.
It seems as though something else must be wrong in the linkage. There just doesn't seem to be enough travel. If I remove the shift cable from the cowling, so I can push/pull it manually, I can get the motor to shift into reverse. I test this with the motor turned off, I adjust the cable's 'length', then turn the prop by hand. If the gears engage, it is hard to turn the prop since you're turning the engine over. When I do the same with everything hooked up properly, the prop spins freely because the gears are not engaged.
No one noticed any issues when the lower end fluids were drained last fall (yes, this boat hasn't been launched before now...), but when I checked the drain plug magnet, there were some very noticeable flecks. The fluid was also a milky color of blue/green (I didn't see it put in, but IIRC, it is normally a more transparent blue/green). The only time that the boat was used was a short trip (0.5Km) where it wouldn't run faster than a few knots because even forward slipped just a little past idling speed (slipped as in the engine revved, but there was no power to the prop).
Is there any other common issues with the shift linkage on these motors or is the lower end dead?
Thanks
Shane
I'm having trouble with the shifting on my 1998 Johnson (model J50TSLECC). My brother broke one of the shift levers inside the cowling last fall, but did find a replacement. The part fits and appears to be the correct one, but the motor still does not shift into reverse.
It seems as though something else must be wrong in the linkage. There just doesn't seem to be enough travel. If I remove the shift cable from the cowling, so I can push/pull it manually, I can get the motor to shift into reverse. I test this with the motor turned off, I adjust the cable's 'length', then turn the prop by hand. If the gears engage, it is hard to turn the prop since you're turning the engine over. When I do the same with everything hooked up properly, the prop spins freely because the gears are not engaged.
No one noticed any issues when the lower end fluids were drained last fall (yes, this boat hasn't been launched before now...), but when I checked the drain plug magnet, there were some very noticeable flecks. The fluid was also a milky color of blue/green (I didn't see it put in, but IIRC, it is normally a more transparent blue/green). The only time that the boat was used was a short trip (0.5Km) where it wouldn't run faster than a few knots because even forward slipped just a little past idling speed (slipped as in the engine revved, but there was no power to the prop).
Is there any other common issues with the shift linkage on these motors or is the lower end dead?
Thanks
Shane
