1969 Johnson 55 HP Hydro-Electric Stuck in NEUTRAL?

[leifferd]

1969 Johnson 55 HP (55ESL69A)

My manual and everything I've read says these motors should fail in forward but that doesn't seem to be the case here. The shift switch in the remote tests fine. I have correct voltage at the green and blue wires in forward, neutral, and reverse at the knife connectors that go down to the solenoids. When the motor is off, the prop seems to be in gear. As soon as the motor starts, the prop spins freely and will not engage forward or reverse. Even jumping 12V directly to the blue and green solenoid wires does not get the gearcase in gear, yet when shutting off the motor, spinning the prop spins the flywheel. Any thoughts? Next step is tearing into the gearcase, but I'd sure like to know I'm on the right track before doing that. Thanks for any insight!

 

[racerone]

When the motor is not running it will go into forward gear.----This means on your motor that the shift piston is free and moving.------I have worked on many of these units.---Sounds to me you have 12 volts applied to the green wire when you have forward selected.---Check the wiring and check to make sure you have the correct switch.-------Nuetral has 12 volts applied to green wire.----Reverse has 12 volts applied to both the green and blue.------Forward there is no voltage applied and it is spring loaded to go into forward.

 

[leifferd]

I checked the wiring to and from the switch in the remote. It is sending the correct voltage to the green and blue wires at the motor in each position. Even with the two wires to the solenoids completely disconnected the motor is not in gear after it starts. It should be in forward with no power to either solenoid, correct? The shift piston must be free and moving because once the motor is off, the prop will not turn without turning the flywheel. I can't figure out how it could be in gear when off but then in neutral when running with the wires disconnected completely.

 

[leifferd]

I guess I should explain what happened when I lost the gears. Everything was running fine at WOT. I slowed down to dock and realized I could not shift into reverse. I shut off the engine. When I restarted the engine I realized I had no forward either. Nothing out of the ordinary leading up to this. It had always shifted in and out of forward and reverse just fine. Fairly recent change of lower unit oil (OMC Type C)... tiny bit of water in with the oil but not unusual.

 

[F_R]

Neutral solenoid plunger is stuck, holding the neutral valve ball against the seat. When you stop the engine, there is no longer any hydraulic pressure, so the clutch dog piston returns to forward, even though the valve is closed. Might have rust in it, causing it to stick. Just my educated guess. Pull the solenoids out for a looksee.

 

[leifferd]

The boat stays in a slip so it is a bit of an ordeal to go fetch the trailer and take it out of the water to tinker with it... especially when you have to use the trolling motor to get from the slip to the boat ramp!

Since we had a bit of a float with the trolling motor running, we might as well fish, right? The stripers were biting so I forgot all about the real mission. It got cold fast and then we were in a hurry to get back before dark. Since the trolling motor battery was about done I decided to give the outboard one more try. - Same thing. Throttle lever revs up the motor but it won't go into gear - forward or reverse.

A couple of buddies and I are standing in the boat reeling in lines when one of them says, "Is that all she's got? Did you rev it all the way up?" "No," I tell him, "That was only half-way... This is all the way." I pushed the lever all the way forward and BAM! she went into gear and about tossed us overboard! We motored back to the ramp and slowed down to try neutral and reverse. Now she's working fine. I guess maybe that stuck neutral solenoid broke loose and finally moved the shifter dog. It must have broken free when I revved it all the way up.

Since I had the trailer there, I went ahead and pulled the boat out and drained the lower unit. The fluid was pretty milky so I'm guessing that had something to do with it. I went ahead and filled the lower unit with seafoam and ran it for a couple of minutes and shifted it in and out of gear. (maybe not the best for it, but that thing is 45 years old and pretty tough I think?) After that I drained the seafoam and refilled it with new OMC Type C fluid. Working like a champ now. I guess I need to pull it again and replace some seals to keep that fluid pure. - Probably wait until it warms up or the fishing slows down, whichever comes first! Thanks for your help!

 

[dazk14]

The boat stays in a slip so it is a bit of an ordeal to go fetch the trailer and take it out of the water to tinker with it... especially when you have to use the trolling motor to get from the slip to the boat ramp!

Since we had a bit of a float with the trolling motor running, we might as well fish, right? The stripers were biting so I forgot all about the real mission. It got cold fast and then we were in a hurry to get back before dark. Since the trolling motor battery was about done I decided to give the outboard one more try. - Same thing. Throttle lever revs up the motor but it won't go into gear - forward or reverse.

A couple of buddies and I are standing in the boat reeling in lines when one of them says, "Is that all she's got? Did you rev it all the way up?" "No," I tell him, "That was only half-way... This is all the way." I pushed the lever all the way forward and BAM! she went into gear and about tossed us overboard! We motored back to the ramp and slowed down to try neutral and reverse. Now she's working fine. I guess maybe that stuck neutral solenoid broke loose and finally moved the shifter dog. It must have broken free when I revved it all the way up.

Since I had the trailer there, I went ahead and pulled the boat out and drained the lower unit. The fluid was pretty milky so I'm guessing that had something to do with it. I went ahead and filled the lower unit with seafoam and ran it for a couple of minutes and shifted it in and out of gear. (maybe not the best for it, but that thing is 45 years old and pretty tough I think?) After that I drained the seafoam and refilled it with new OMC Type C fluid. Working like a champ now. I guess I need to pull it again and replace some seals to keep that fluid pure. - Probably wait until it warms up or the fishing slows down, whichever comes first! Thanks for your help!

Excellent follow up of the issue as there are still plenty of these lowers still in service.