new to me 40hp johnson 1969? stuck in gear

[registeroot]

hi, im currently restoring a shakespeare boat, and i have bought this johnson 40 which is stuck in gear , as well as some other problems. here are some pics and questions. i would appreciate your input.

some gunge, anything to worry about?

this is part of throttle linkage, im trying to find out where this should be attached, also one of the HT leads has been cut! do not know why someone would do that!

i think its '69

model number rd-23 serial 326932

thanks for looing, would appreciate any help at all.

 

[registeroot]

Re: new to me 40hp johnson 1969? stuck in gear

got a lot of gear oil out of it. it didnt look too oily and it stank.

i managed to force the gear lever into neutral. i dont think i should have as i now cant move it at all. any ideas where to start? should i remove the lower unit and have a look

 

[mstahl1171]

Re: new to me 40hp johnson 1969? stuck in gear

Remove the lower unit and have a look...the oil is milky so that means the seals are bad and have let water in. Do you have a factory service manual??...if not, get one...you'll need it. Have you checked compression?? Before I spend alot of money on this one I'd check and see if the block is good.

 

[registeroot]

Re: new to me 40hp johnson 1969? stuck in gear

thanks for the reply. i cant seem to get a manual for my model or serial number. is it a 1968? i tried to remove the lower unit. i removed the six bolts at the bottom but is joined elsewhere. ill have another look today

 

[freddyray21]

Re: new to me 40hp johnson 1969? stuck in gear

on the side of the midsection housing is a rectangle inspection plate held by two screws. remove that plate and you will see the shift linkage coupler. you have to undo the bottom screw in it to get the shift linkage loose. Don't force things as they will break.

 

[registeroot]

Re: new to me 40hp johnson 1969? stuck in gear

on the side of the midsection housing is a rectangle inspection plate held by two screws. remove that plate and you will see the shift linkage coupler. you have to undo the bottom screw in it to get the shift linkage loose. Don't force things as they will break.

awsome advice thank you very much.i will check that today.

by the way, can i tell wht year it is from my serial number??

 

[lindy46]

Re: new to me 40hp johnson 1969? stuck in gear

RD-23 is a 1961

You also have to remove the rear exhaust housing cover (held on by a bunch of Phillips Head bolts) to get to a large bolt at the rear of the leg. Lower unit won't come off without removing that large bolt.

 

[registeroot]

Re: new to me 40hp johnson 1969? stuck in gear

thanks very much indy i will do that, and post results. its little things like that i need to know until i can find out what year this engine is and get a manual.

 

[registeroot]

Re: new to me 40hp johnson 1969? stuck in gear

just noticed you posted the year! wow that is old. how did you find that out? many thanks.

 

[lindy46]

Re: new to me 40hp johnson 1969? stuck in gear

http://www.marineengine.com/manuals/johnson/index.html?gclid=CKPXpZG4sqICFQ855wodzALi7A

 

[registeroot]

Re: new to me 40hp johnson 1969? stuck in gear

thans lindy. i will try to release the lower unit tomorrow. thanks for posting the link also. do you have one of these motors?

 

[lindy46]

Re: new to me 40hp johnson 1969? stuck in gear

Don't have that particular motor, but have had and worked on many 35hp and 40hp motors from the 50's and 60's era.

 

[registeroot]

Re: new to me 40hp johnson 1969? stuck in gear

more tinkering. i have to go get penetrating oil to release the lower unit bolts.

in the meantime i removed the top cover and flywheel. all the bolts were loose. the previous owner must have been a tinkerer too.

removed the flywheel and i think i found where the cut HT lead should go to.

any body confirm this?

 

[lindy46]

Re: new to me 40hp johnson 1969? stuck in gear

The wire you have in your hand looks like one of the kill wires - attaches to the points along with the coil and condenser wires, and goes to the "M" terminal on the ignition switch. Should come up through a hole in the armature plate, by the coil. There should be a kill wire going to each point set. One goes directly to the ignition switch and one goes to the cut-out switch, then jumps from there to the ignition switch.

 

[registeroot]

Re: new to me 40hp johnson 1969? stuck in gear

excellent information indy, thank you.
i left the ignition alone tonight and tried to resolve the stuck in gear problem.

i disconnected and reconnected the gear selector arm, which seemed to free it up.

i am unsure as to weather it is correctly reassembled to the cam.

made a wee video. any help would be appreciated!

 

[registeroot]

Re: new to me 40hp johnson 1969? stuck in gear

ok i adjusted the shift rod coupler there, it wasnt fully connected.

i opened the gearbox to loo for damge, thankfully it was all good.

i realigned the gears and reconnected.

i then tried the gear lever and it selects 1 gear under a lot of force.



the fact that it selects one gear when the lever has three positions must mean it is out sync with the lever .

does any body know which point on the cam lever is forward neutral an reverse????

any ideas?

im thinking that maybe my lever was in neutral, the i reconnected the gearbox in fwd?

also it is very stiiff to even move the lever. im stuck at the minute on that one.

many thanks.

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: new to me 40hp johnson 1969? stuck in gear

Was the phillips head screw on the side of the gearcase removed?

 

[kfa4303]

Re: new to me 40hp johnson 1969? stuck in gear

Hi registeroot. I have a guess. Make sure that your throttle is turned all the way down for now, such that the armature plate on the underside of the magneto is out of the way of the shift bar. Based on the first half of your vid, it looks like the vertical, white shift bar is hitting the brass colored armature cam. It normally acts to prevent you from physically twisting the throttle past mid idle when in neutral. However, the armature can slip past the bar and get stuck. Try shifting gears and when you see the shift bar move away from the engine block, twist the throttle all the way down. This should move the plate counter clockwise and out of the way of the white vertical shift bar and allow it to have its full range of motion. Give it a shot and let us know what happens. Good luck.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: new to me 40hp johnson 1969? stuck in gear

correction: the cam will rotate the cam CLOCKWISE when you turn the throttle down.

 

[66evinrude]

Re: new to me 40hp johnson 1969? stuck in gear

try turning the prop when trying to shift it into gear mine wont go in gear without out turning prop