1979 johnson 35hp goes in reverse but not foward?

[littlejohn44]

I have been told that it was a clutch dog, This is my first outboard so I am really not sure about this. I can put it in reverse and when I go back to nuetral it kinda sticks in reverse and then foward acts as though nuetral. When I spin the prop by hand with it in the foward positon it kicks it out of gear back to nuetral.Would this be the clutch dog? I cannot find one online for a 1979, they all seem to start at 1987. Does this model have one? Are the hard to replace? Thanks For the help

 

[OBJ]

Re: 1979 johnson 35hp goes in reverse but not foward?

Welcome littlejohn!<br /><br />Could you tell us if your engine is a remote controled unit or a tiller.......What all that means is, do you have a remote control for the engine or do you start it at the engine?

 

[littlejohn44]

Re: 1979 johnson 35hp goes in reverse but not foward?

Oh Im sorry its a tiller handle. Im reading the other post now about clutch dogs, This motor is new to me so I dont know if it ever was going in foward. I had the lower unit off to replace the water pump and upper seals and thought mabey the shift linkage was not adjusted right. It is key start also. Thanks

 

[littlejohn44]

Re: 1979 johnson 35hp goes in reverse but not foward?

I just figured out it was the shift linkage, it wasnt all the way up in the connecter.Now I cant get it to go in reverse, Is there a way to adjust the linkage? I noticed that the bottom rod screws in to the fork, is this the adjuster? Thanks

 

[OBJ]

Re: 1979 johnson 35hp goes in reverse but not foward?

Littlejohn...there is no "adjusters" in the lower unit. The shift rod screws into the shift linkage snug. Notice that both the upper and lower shift rods have notches at the ends. Line these notches up with the holes in the shift rod link before putting the screws in. <br /><br />Now, since you start with a key switch, I'm going to assume you shift gears from a control box. What you might have is a misadjusted shift control cable because of the problem you found with the connector (shift rod link). Pretty easy to check the adjustment. Disconnect the shift control cable from the engine. Manually shift the engine into neutral...spin the prop to verify. make sure the control box is in neutral. Reconnect the shift cable at the engine and adjust the large thumb wheel on the control cable (called a trunion) to fit back in it's anchor slot. Now, while spinning the prop, shift the control box into forward and reverse and see if the prop shaft engages. <br /><br />I would recommend a service manual John. It will teach a lot about the engine and it's care. You can get the generics, Seloc or Clymers from iboats, see the bottom of the page or search up Ken Cook Co., marine.com or the outboardwizard, all of which sell reprints of the original OEM manuals which are the preferred manuals.<br /><br />Keep us posted about your progress.

 

[littlejohn44]

Re: 1979 johnson 35hp goes in reverse but not foward?

I ordered a manual last night.It doesnt have a control box. I got the motor off a fishing boat with steering and converted it to tiller handle. I was going to pull the prop shaft to check the clutch dog until I found out I needed a puller. I got as far as removing the prop and screw by the oil fill plug.I have a diagram of the parts but cant tell how the screw fits in the clutch fork. I am wondering if I have it in wrong, shifted the fork out of alignment or something.

 

[littlejohn44]

Re: 1979 johnson 35hp goes in reverse but not foward?

 

[OBJ]

Re: 1979 johnson 35hp goes in reverse but not foward?

Not the first time someone has pulled the screw littlejohn..... <br /><br />The pivot pin fits into a hole in the shift lever inside the gearcase. What you can do is get a flashlight and look into the hole and work the shift lever around until you can see the hole in the shift lever. Even if you can see a little bit of it, you might be able to stick a small punch in there and get it lined back up and then put the pivot pin or screw back in. I've done it before and just takes a little patients. Then see if it'll shift right for ya'.