Replacing 50's Johnson gearcase shifter seals?

[joaklay]

I've got a few '50s Johnson outboards and I'm soon to replace all their lower gearcase seals however it seems as though there's a special tool required to replace the shifter shaft seal (or o-ring).<br /> Is the tool still available somewhere or is there a way to do it w/o the tool?

 

[rolmops]

Re: Replacing 50's Johnson gearcase shifter seals?

My "special" is a 1/4 inch piece of threaded rod.After you remove the shift rod, just lower it on the o ring and tap it with a hammer.The piece of copper underneath should come out

 

[itstippy]

Re: Replacing 50's Johnson gearcase shifter seals?

Hey, I get to dig out my first ever iBoats post!<br /><br /> http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=28;t=027083#000000 <br /><br />If your kits come with two "skinny" driveshaft seals instead of one "thick" one, they go one atop the other stacked like poker chips. One faces down the other faces up. The rubber lips face "up" in the seals, so one keeps oil in (facing down) and the other keeps water out (facing up).<br /><br /> http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=28;t=028684#000001

 

[Walker]

Re: Replacing 50's Johnson gearcase shifter seals?

Unless your seal is different that what I'm thinking of all you need is a dental pick, or something shaped like that. I use an old test light probe and bent the tip. Reach down in there and snag the oring and work it out. To replace I use small blunt punches and a dab of white grease to help get the oring back into the groove.

 

[joaklay]

Re: Replacing 50's Johnson gearcase shifter seals?

Great. Thanks for all the info guys.<br /><br /><br /> Another Q, the front bearing has some rust on it from water, minor but I'd like to clean it up. What's the prefered method to do that?