73 Johnson 9.5 - Lost forward/reverse

Sherriff

Cadet
Joined
Oct 15, 2008
Messages
6
Hi, first post, great forum....Looking forward to spending more time here.

I own a 1973, 9.5 Johnson outboard. I bought it used. Great little motor that was not used much. It is in great shape. I used it many times and recently I was running around the lake and the motor popped outta forward gear.

I was able to quickly get it back into neutral as it was reving very high. Waited a minute and put it back in without issue, ran great all day.

The next day, same issue but a few more times it happened. This went on and on until my last day up north, I could not get foward or reverse...

When I put the motor in reverse, the lever clicks in nice and stays there but the prop does not move. In forward, the lever will not stay down and seems that there is something preventing it from going into forward.

Any thoughts. This little motor, although old, runs like a charm and starts first pull everytime. I would like to be able to repair it.

Thanks

Sherriff
 

Joe Reeves

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Feb 24, 2002
Messages
13,262
Re: 73 Johnson 9.5 - Lost forward/reverse

Drop the lower unit in order to inspect the driveshaft splines and the shift connector. A connector can come apart, splines can shear.
 

ezeke

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 19, 2003
Messages
12,532
Re: 73 Johnson 9.5 - Lost forward/reverse

Several possibilities:

1. You may have spun the prop or broken the drive pin in back of the propeller. Take the propeller off and check the condition of the pin - it is stainless steel, but can break if the propeller is not tight on the shaft. The two parts of the propeller hub have a rubber seal between them that is barely visible but will slip if you strike an underwater object;

2. The two sections of the shift rod are held together by a coupler. The screw must be completely removed when servicing or the two sections will not stay in place. When you return the screw, it must pass inside of the recessed part of the shift rod or it will not hold and will result in erratic or lack of shifting. Click the thumbnail below;

3. Whenever the engine is turning, the gears are in constant motion. They are connected to the propeller shaft by a "dog" which moves from gear to gear by your action of the shift lever. The dog is subject to wear, usually from not shifting quickly from neutral, or from not slowing the engine down before shifting. If the dog's ears are worn, you will need to replace it which requires disassembly.
 

Attachments

  • shift rod connector 2.JPG
    shift rod connector 2.JPG
    21.8 KB · Views: 0
Top