'76 Johnson 6HP shift lever hard to move

jrs_diesel said:

I am in the process of rebuilding a 76 6HP long shaft. It came with my sailboat, and has not run in at least 10 years.

It has a very hard gear shift. Doesn't matter what direction, forward to neutral, neutral to reverse. It feel's like its very tight.

I have the lower unit off to service the water pump, so I do not suspect the shifting mechanism down there. I took the powerhead off today, and I can see the upper part of the shift lever.

Anyone have any advice on how to make the lever move more freely?

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F_R said:

So tell us. You have at all apart. Does the shifter handle still move hard? I have to assume that is what is happening. Remove the inner lever, pull the handle and shaft out of the housing, and clean the corrosion crud buildup out of it. Clean the grease passage too, so grease can get through. Use a new o-ring on the shifter shaft, grease with good waterproof marine grease and reassemble.

The lower unit should show considerable resistance to moving the rod up and down, then snap into / out of gear. It would be very rare to have a problem in that area, but possible I suppose.

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jrs_diesel said:

Got it out. I didn't find any O rings. A little bit of a fight to get both the screw, and then the shift handle out. Lots of corrosion. Got it cleaned out mostly.

Thank you for the guidance F R.

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F_R said:

Part number 303191 -- o-ring. Goes in the groove in the handle shaft. Without it, water will dribble out around the handle when running.

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jrs_diesel said:

On the inside of the midsection I assume?

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F_R said:

The water is already inside. It went through the powerhead and did its job there, then is dumped into the exhaust stream to keep that cool. The o-ring keeps it from blowing out through the handle shaft hole and dribbling where you can see it.

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