Need help for a friend.....

[BBFlinger]

Folks, I have a buddy who recently purchased a 1959 Dorsett. I came with a 40 hp outboard motor. The boat was suppose to be restored as well as the motor was recently rebuilt. However, after finally getting the old 2 stroke fired up, we found out that the motr will not go into reverse or neutral. We have tried everything we know in regards to getting it going. He took it to a mechanic today and found out that the motor was not rebuilt, just tuned up. He said that the entire lower half would need to be rebuilt. He was asked by the original owner to evaluate it and thats what he told them. The original owner failed to inform my buddy of that fact (22 year olds get dupped easily I guess). He is looking at at least $1000 in labor and parts. Does anyone know if there is a good used or rebuilt 4 stroke 40 hp out there for sale and if so can you message me the info. He would like to go to a 4 stroke as Utah is getting very strict on 2 strokes.

Thanks in advance for any help.

BB

 

[Bosunsmate]

Re: Need help for a friend.....

If its going good in forward gear then i cant see why it would need $1000 spent on it. Its probably just a seized dogclutch. Leave some penetrating oil in there for a few day and try again, if it works flush it out. The parts that could be broken add up to a few dollars each so dont use it as fill for a hole yet
You can also drop the lower leg to see if its just a seized upper gear lever too.
A working one would get a goodprice towards a 4stroke

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Need help for a friend.....

Is that motor mechanical shift or electric shift? Any idea of the year? Can you post a picture? Have you changed the gear oil? If it is mechanical shift, the shift cradle could be bad. That is an easy fix. Of course it could be a host of other things, as well.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Need help for a friend.....

Yikes whats his hourly rate? lol

Step 1, post the model number.

 

[BBFlinger]

Re: Need help for a friend.....

Its a 1960, mechanical shift. RDSL-22.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Need help for a friend.....

Well I would start by ensuring the shift rod connection is ok. Im assuming the mechanic would have tried that though. Ya never know.

Can you manually move the shift rod up and down through the hole?

If not, youll have to open her up and see what is going on.

 

[lindy46]

Re: Need help for a friend.....

Most likely the shift rod is disconnected from the coupler (look in the window on the side of the leg after removing the cover). Both shift rods should be firmly mounted in the coupler with the upper and lower bolts in place. Everything should move up and down when you move the shift lever, as HighTrim suggested. Or another possibility is someone removed the little Phillips head pivot pin from the gearcase and didn't get it back throught the hole in the shift yoke. Either of these problems would be a simple fix (less than 1 hours' time), and not run anywhere near $1000 to fix.