Lock Lever on a 1954 Johnson Sea Horse QD15

[smaybe01]

I am working on a 1954 QD15 and I am having an issue with the lock lever (part #302518) not engaging on the slots on the back of the stern bracket. When I pull on the cord to start the motor the back end comes up unless i use a bungee cord to lock down the locking lever. Any advice out there on how to solve this issue?

 

[hardwater fisherman]

If the motor has a long tilting bolt and nut.Part number 326134.. Maybe just tighten it up a little.. That way when you pull the rope the motor should not lift up.

 

[smaybe01]

Thank you. It does have the bolt and nut. It is all the way to the lowest position on the bracket. I will try moving it tonight and see if that makes a difference.

 

[hardwater fisherman]

I was talking about the long bolt that the motor tilts up and down on.. The one in this photo with the loop attached to it. I would think if the motor tilts up while pulling the rope then it is not tight enough..

 

[Joe Reeves]

Sounds like the spring that keeps upward tension on the pit attached to the locking hook has lost its strength, or the hooks are rounded off. Something is not right with the locking apparatus obviously.

 

[hardwater fisherman]

Sounds like the spring that keeps upward tension on the pit attached to the locking hook has lost its strength, or the hooks are rounded off. Something is not right with the locking apparatus obviously.

Yes I agree that it should lock... I was just thinking that if pulling the rope made the motor swing up then maybe the tilt bolt was not very tight.. I do not even know if that tilt bolt keeps the motor up or if there is some kind of latch.. It would seem to me that if it tilts up when pulling the rope. Then it probably would not stay up on its own...

 

[smaybe01]

Thank you for your advice. So after messing around with this thing last night I have discovered it will move up to the lock position when I put it in reverse. When in neutral and forward the "hooks" drop back down. I'm guessing this is normal??? This is my first vintage motor so I'm learning as I go. You can see a video of this here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11pEJ_B7jmIDH3FA1VdD-prFU8p_vHTnG/view?usp=sharing

 

[lindy46]

If I recall, that lock is only to keep the motor from raising up when you put it in reverse. You don't want it to be locked in forward because if you hit an obstruction while cruising, the motor should be able to raise up and not destroy the lower unit. Some bigger motors had a manual lock/release mechanism, but I don't think the10hp had it. As Harwater mentioned, more tension on the tilt pivot bolt should do it.

 

[F_R]

If...If it was designed to lock in neutral, you would have a different complaint. You wouldn't be able to tilt the motor unless it was shifted into forward, running or not. And sometimes you can't shift from neutral to forward when not running because the gears do not "fit".

 

[smaybe01]

Hard water fisherman you had it from the start. Tightened up the bolt works great now. Thank you for the advice. Now I'm on to figure out what's going on with this impeller.