63 Johnson 18hp won't shift

[Ten-man]

My old reliable Johnson 18 horse will not go into forward gear any more. It will only run in reverse and just wont shift into forward gear or neutral. Is it out of adjustment or is something broke? Will it be costly to repair?Thanks Newbee

[Paul Moir]

Welcome to Iboats, Ten-man!I think something's broke, but probably not something expensive. Take off the window held on by two screws on the side of the midsection and observe the shift rod link behind it while you move the shift lever. Does it move with the lever?

[Ten-man]

Paul you my new friend are a life saver. I opened up the window and the bottom bolt had worked out of the shift rod link. I replaced it and I'm back in business. The boat shop had a 2 week waiting list for repair and I want to use the boat for a week of hunting starting tommorrow. I would have been up poop creek without a paddle if not for you. Thanks a ton!! One question the bolt that worked out is down in the motor I assume the lower end is sealed up is there anything it could damage leaving it in the motor?

[Paul Moir]

Glad to here it was something so simple!I don't think it'll be a problem. That's just the exhaust chamber in there. If you lay the engine on it's back and shake the lower unit a bit, the bolt may just drop out the exhaust. It's worth a shot anyway.If you want get it out, you simply unbolt the lower unit (4 or 5 bolts), disconnect the shift rod coupler and pull the lower unit off. The driveshaft will come with it. To reassemble, lightly grease the top of the driveshaft and replace the oring there if it's worn. Then install the lower unit lining up the shift rod, the driveshaft and the water tube. It's a bit of a hassle, but not a big deal.But I doubt it would cause any sort of problem to operate it for now with it in there.

[Ten-man]

Thanks again Paul you da man.