I have an '83 35 hp Johnson, and I'm rebuilding the lower unit for the second time. The previous owner had it rebuilt once, and said it was popping out of gear again, so it would need doing. It didn't look that bad to me, but I resurfaced the clutch faces just in case. Since the motor wasn't used all that much, I can only think of 2 things- either the linkage was adjusted wrong, or the SS prop is beating it up. Back in the old days, old timers insisted that SS props were harder on the lower units because of the greater weight. Makes sense, but I've never had it proven or disproven. I did notice that in '84, they went over to a 3 lobe clutch, which tells me the older design was weak. Would I be wise to get an aluminum prop in the interest of saving the LU, or is it something else? Obviously, I'll set up the linkage properly.
