reverse gear

[number_juan]

I took apart my lower unit on my 1985 johnson 50hp and found my reverse gear was rounded out at the teeth where the clutch dog engages. my question is if i can send the gear to a machine shop to get the teeth built up and milled downed to a square edge again both the gear and the clutch dog.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: reverse gear

you can try it. but not usually successful. the reason they round off is slow shifting. to keep it from happening again, the shift is fast and deliberate. you sort of slam it into gear.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: reverse gear

You are not going to like the price of the new ones either.

The dog and gears have precisely machined edges, that if rounded will jump out of gear as you have found. Some of the dogs can be reversed, however am not sure on your exact model. Does the dog have a groove or a p on it?

As Tash said, the machined edges wear due to improper adjustment or worn shift linkages, but usually due to improper slow shifting. You are not taking it easy by slowly shifting into gear, you have to make a sure, quick movement, snapping it into gear. Easing it into gear causes the machined edges of the dog and gear to bang bang bang against one another, rounding them off.

 

[5150abf]

Re: reverse gear

I am on my 3rd lower unit and can tell you from hard earned experience if you want it to be reliable pony up the money and have it done right.
If your tolerances are of just the slightest bit out it may last a year or two.
Tha first time it went it was the clutch dog exploded,HARD prop strike, got a new one, then reverse threw teeth,bought a crusty old lower from a marina and put that reverse in with my old gears.
Then I threw the teeth off the forward gear, bought a new gear set($320)and that lasted a year before it went again, teeth forward gear.
Then I bought a used lower off Ebay WITH a prop for $142 bucks( I about fell out of my chair when I won that!) and haven't had any problems since.
The first failure was inexperience on the river I fish, the rest were because I tried to do it myself, mix and match parts ect.
Oddly enough all except the first went at WOT in deep water,horrible sound it is.
So the moral of the story is, as much as it sucks ,pony up the money and have it done right at a marina or say your prayers and surf over to Ebay and see if you can get lucky.
I spent just as much money and had way more down time than if I had had it done right in the first place.