old motor

[Eds]

I have a 1962 18 horse Johnson. Got it last year and is in mint condition. Only problem with it, it won't stay into forward gear, runs great it just doesn't want to catch. I would rather not invest a bunch of money in this older motor. If I were to try and get rid of it for at least some money is my best bet Twin City outboard in Shakopee. I emailed them to see if they can give me a very rough estimate on what it may be worth, but so far no response at all. In a perfect world someday I just want a small reliable motor for my 14 footer, something like a 9.9 would work just fine but need to do something about this older one first. Right now running on electric. Any help, suggestions, whatever would be great.

Thanks.

[Swamp Scooter]

Is it unable to be fixed? I have a 14' boat aluminum too and have run the 9.9 for a long time and then went up to an old 20hp. big difference and I would not go back now that I have the bigger motor. The 9.9 just has a hard time getting up and going with 2 people and some gear in the boat. It goes but does not move out like the 20. It still trolls down good too. Since you have the electric already if you could get it to stay in gear I would use it. If it can be fixed I might be interested.

[Eds]

It can be fixed, I just don't have the funds to invest into something like this right now. Wish I did so I can scoot around a little faster.

[Guest]

Try going on the "Wanted" forum on here and see if someone is willing to trade you for this one. Also, I saw a 3 HP motor for sale on the "Items For Sale Under $100" forum on here. For $50 it would be better running than using an electric motor. At $50 you can't lose. You will always be able to get your money back on a deal like that. Just some ideas.

[bwtrout]

i have an old johnson 5hp that wouldn't stay in forward. it has a little clip in the lower unit's gear box that caught a notch in the rod for forward, neutral, and reverse. the screw that held the clip in was stripped, i had to rethread it a size bigger. it wasn't a big job?

you probably have those parts floating around in the grease so be careful running it, they could get caught up in the gears.

[This message has been edited by bwtrout (edited 05-11-2004).]

[This message has been edited by bwtrout (edited 05-11-2004).]

[Knotwood]

Sounds like the gears are rounding off where the clutch dog engages. If you buy new gears and the like, it could cost quite a bit. I've seen lots of these that I've repaired with the purchase of a new dog, (relatively cheap) and dremeling the gear with a carbide bit perpendicular so it matches the dog teeth, removing all of the rounded off areas. Fresh "spaghetti" seal and lube, replace the prop seal and line everything back up carefully when putting it back together. Maybe your local library has a breakdown of the parts and if not, take pix to help if unsure how it goes back together.

[Guest]

Fix it!

I had the same problem on an old evinrude.

All it is, is the alignment. There is an adjustable "screw" or threaded rod that you adjust the f/n/r throw switch.

It was just a simple adjustment. You can probably buy a manual for $20.

[Guest]

By the way, I've worked with Twin City Outboard.

They are very overpriced on their stuff and won't give you $.10 to the $1.00 for what you stuff is worth.

[Eds]

I like to think I can fix a lot of stuff but I don't know jack about motors, except a few basics. I would like to try and fix it but I don't want to mess it up even more. So don't really know what I'm going to do about all this.