1954 johnson 25hp

[jerry saunders]

I just got a 1954 25hp Johnson electric start long shaft that has a riser and It was apart when I got It and I cant get the shift shaft to go together it looks to be short by one inch . I took the power head off every thing look good up there do I need to take the gear case and unhook the yoke and shove It up
and hook It up top first then put the gear case together ? thanks jerry

[F_R]

I just got a 1954 25hp Johnson electric start long shaft that has a riser and It was apart when I got It and I cant get the shift shaft to go together it looks to be short by one inch . I took the power head off every thing look good up there do I need to take the gear case and unhook the yoke and shove It up
and hook It up top first then put the gear case together ? thanks jerry

I don't know where the problem is, but no you don't have to take the gearcase apart. You can move the shift rod up and down within it's normal travel without doing that.

[jerry saunders]

Is the shift shaft coupler longer on the long shaft then the short shaft
if so I need one where can I get one 1954 25hp johnson long shaft

[lindy46]

The shift rod coupler on a long shaft is appx. 6 inches long. If that is what you have and it wont link up, make sure to move the shift lever on the motor into reverse, then it should take up the slack. You can place a free want ad at AOMCI.org.

[F_R]

The shift rod coupler on a long shaft is appx. 6 inches long. If that is what you have and it wont link up, make sure to move the shift lever on the motor into reverse, then it should take up the slack. You can place a free want ad at AOMCI.org.

Jerry, you said that the motor was apart when you got it. That seems to suggest that somebody has installed some incorrect parts. Unfortunatly, I don't know what those parts might be.

But here is the deal: As originally built, the upper shift rod was the same for long or short shaft. A motor that came from the factory as a long shaft has a 5" longer lower shift rod and a "regular" connector. A motor that was converted to long shaft after leaving the factory would normally have a 5" longer shift rod connector and the original (short) lower shift rod. OR, they might have replaced the short shaft lower shift rod with a long shaft lower shift rod and kept the original short shift rod connector.

So, summing it all up, to make a long shaft motor, you either keep the short lower shift rod and use a 5" longer connector, or you replace the lower shift rod and keep the short connector.

Restoring back to short shaft, if the shift rods won't meet, somebody has replaced one or both of them from something that was made for another motor. Wish I could tell you what it was. There are only two connectors, one is about an inch long and another about 6" long. Those are "about" without measuring them.