1967 Evinrude 6hp Lower Unit Removal

It is my first day on the site so I apologize if this topic is on a thread already. I just go a 1967 Evinrude 6hp and I want to go through it and get it in good reliable condition for a little jon boat. I went to remove the lower unit by removing the 4 bolts, but the unit will only drop about an inch or so. From what I have found on google, I need to disconnect the shift linkage. Is this correct? If so, where is it located? Any videos of a similar engine going through this process?

Re: 1967 Evinrude 6hp Lower Unit Removal

You have to disconnect the shift rod by removing the lower bolt in the coupler.

If I remember correctly as well, you need to spin the driveshaft to align the roll pin at the top which holds up the carbon seal with its slot. Forcing it down will break the roll pin.

Re: 1967 Evinrude 6hp Lower Unit Removal

HighTrim said:

You have to disconnect the shift rod by removing the lower bolt in the coupler.

If I remember correctly as well, you need to spin the driveshaft to align the roll pin at the top which holds up the carbon seal with its slot. Forcing it down will break the roll pin.

Click to expand...

I hope this isn't too ignorant, but where is the coupler you are referring to? :facepalm:

Re: 1967 Evinrude 6hp Lower Unit Removal

RULER7171 said:

It is my first day on the site so I apologize if this topic is on a thread already. I just go a 1967 Evinrude 6hp and I want to go through it and get it in good reliable condition for a little jon boat. I went to remove the lower unit by removing the 4 bolts, but the unit will only drop about an inch or so. From what I have found on google, I need to disconnect the shift linkage. Is this correct? If so, where is it located? Any videos of a similar engine going through this process?

Click to expand...

Johnson
not a vid, but explains what you need and more.

Re: 1967 Evinrude 6hp Lower Unit Removal

It shows in the great link posted above, but once you drop the gearcase down the half inch, you will see the coupler in that gap.

Re: 1967 Evinrude 6hp Lower Unit Removal

The shift coupler on this motor is only visible after you remove the 4 bolts affixing the lower unit to the center section, and dropping the lower unit down 1/2" or so. If you shift to Forward, then let the shifting handle move to Reverse as you drop the lower unit, you'll have a bit more room to get at the coupler.

The shift shaft sticks up out of the gearcase just a bit, and the brass coupler is right there. Just enough room to get your socket (or a large, flat-bladed screwdriver) in there.

As the O.P. stated, there is a roll pin at the top of the driveshaft, right under the driveshaft splines. This pushes upwards on the spring-loaded lower crankshaft carbon seal assembly. On older motors, you had to pull the powerhead to get at the shift linkage and get the seal assy positioned properly.

On this motor, OMC did an upgrade and added structure to the center section which held the spring & other parts of the seal assy in place. Then they moved the shift rod coupler down below so you wouldn't have to pull the powerhead to get at it.

The problem remained of the pesky driveshaft roll pin. The solution was to make a slot for the roll pin to go thru when removing the lower unit. Such that all the lower seal stuff stays nicely in place with the driveshaft removed.

You do have to be real careful when pulling down the L/U, 'cause if the roll pin isn't aligned with the slot, and you continue to pry/use a great amount of force, the pin will shear off.

Best thing to do is apply a gentle, constant downwards pull on the L/U then slowly rotate the flywheel until the pin aligns with the slot.
If the pin shears or is already cracked/broken (very common), don't despair, just drive out the remnants with a pin punch and install a new pin. You can still get the correct part from OMC, or use a stainless steel roll pin from an auto parts/bearing supply store.

When you reinstall the lower unit, be sure the driveshaft splines are lubed up with waterproof marine grease (boat bearing grease works well) or equivalent. Wipe any excess from the top of the driveshaft.

With the lower unit out, look upwards with a flashlight and you'll see how the slot is oriented. Turn the driveshaft so the pin will line up as you're reinstalling.

The water tube will engage first; next is the driveshaft thru the pin slot, and up into the crankshaft. Rotate the flywheel slowly until the driveshaft is engaged.

Last will be the shift coupler. Be sure the ground-out area of the shift shaft is perfectly aligned with the bottom hole in the shift coupler. The clamping bolt will "nestle" up in the ground-out area of the shaft. If you spread the free end of the shift coupler apart just a tad with a flat-bladed screwdriver, it'll make it a lot easier to get the shaft into the coupler.

Once the clamping screw is tight, reinstall your 4 mounting bolts, with a thin coating of waterproof grease on each.

You should then be good to go!

HTH & G'luck.......ed

Re: 1967 Evinrude 6hp Lower Unit Removal

This may help.

Johnson

Re: 1967 Evinrude 6hp Lower Unit Removal

I am missing something
When I remove the 4 bolts and drop the lower unit an inch or so I do not see a screw to remove the linkage. All I can see is the water pump housing and the bare shifting rod. I will work on getting a pic posted.

Re: 1967 Evinrude 6hp Lower Unit Removal

Hi Ruler. There should be a small oval plate on the side of the exhaust housing. When you remove the plate you should see the shift shaft coupler. Remove the lower bolt only. You should now be able to drop the LU entirely. You may need to flip the motor into FWD to separate the upper and lower shift shaft rods.

This pic may help.

Re: 1967 Evinrude 6hp Lower Unit Removal

Shift it into reverse and you will see the coupler.

The 6hp does not have the oval door like the larger hp motors. Remove the bottom bolt. I remove the plug wires while turning the ds to align the roll pin with its slot to prevent accidental starting.

Re: 1967 Evinrude 6hp Lower Unit Removal

HighTrim said:

Shift it into reverse and you will see the coupler.

The 6hp does not have the oval door like the larger hp motors. Remove the bottom bolt. I remove the plug wires while turning the ds to align the roll pin with its slot to prevent accidental starting.

Click to expand...

I appreciate everyone lending a hand. Here is a few pics of what I am seeing. I also made a quick video so that you can get a 360' view.

Re: 1967 Evinrude 6hp Lower Unit Removal

Is it in reverse?

Re: 1967 Evinrude 6hp Lower Unit Removal

I honestly don't know which position is for which direction. The lever is in the position that is going away from the front of the engine to the rear position (it has three positions 1. to the front 2. vertical 3. to the rear) The pic below shows where it is now. I assumed it was reverse.

Re: 1967 Evinrude 6hp Lower Unit Removal

looks to be in one of the pics,High...you may have to pull down on the lower unit as you turn the flywheel or prop inorder to get that upper d/s pin to align with a slot in the exhaust housing so that it'll slip down farther to access the screw in the brass coupler...remove the screw completely from the coupler and the lower unit should slip off...removing the sparkplugs makes turn the flywheel of prop easier

Re: 1967 Evinrude 6hp Lower Unit Removal

as I look up and into the lower unit, I can see the rod several inches and there is not a coupler

Re: 1967 Evinrude 6hp Lower Unit Removal

Q: is there a serial number plate on the side of the transom clamp?

I'm thinking there are a couple of possibilities here: either you've got an older lower unit off a 5-1/2 hp, or someone has been playing mix-n-match with the rest of the motor. The cowling and cover look correct for a '67, and the center section, from what I can see of it, has paint which matches the cowl and powerhead.

The lower unit looks like it was re-sprayed and you can see the darker blue original paint underneath.

Probably from a much older Evinrude. If it was from a 5-1/2hp, it would have had a longer shift rod.

It's possible to retrofit an earlier lower unit to a 6hp, since it'll bolt right up. But they would have had to remove the powerhead to do so, since the only disconnect for the shift rod is at the clevis on the end of the shift lever.

Looks like you'll need to remove the powerhead to gain access to the shift linkage. What fun! At least it's not extremely complicated on this motor.

I found a Youtube video of a guy doing pump R&R on a small twin, it should help you get an idea of what you're in for:

Dropping the Lower Unit on mid 50's 5.5 and 7.5 Johnsons and Evinrudes - YouTube

You're gonna need a powerhead gasket. There's an O-ring for the quad seal (lower crank seal) as well, and a cork gasket for the seal plate. These are consumables that should be replaced any time the motor's been taken apart; they're inexpensive and readily available.

The good news is, someone has retrofitted the later-style plastic pump, which has a stainless insert. This is a more durable pump, as the old aluminum pump housings tend to rot away after many years. It'll pump a lot more water, too.

So, when you look up part numbers, be sure to get the later-style impeller which goes with the pump kit. If you go by the part number on the old diagram, it'll be the wrong impeller.

Check out this diagram and the notes for the impeller, part #16 on the diagram:

Johnson Gearcase Group Parts for 1967 6hp CD-24 Outboard Motor

This is for a '67 6hp Johnson, the parts will be the same as for your Evinrude.

Here's a link to the center section, so you can look up gaskets etc:

Johnson Lower Unit Group Parts for 1967 6hp CD-24 Outboard Motor

HTH.............ed

Re: 1967 Evinrude 6hp Lower Unit Removal

HighTrim said:

Is it in reverse?

Click to expand...

+1....the lever is in reverse, but the lower shift rod appears to pulled up? you may need to put the shifter back into fwd, then bolt the lu back up lightly with two bolts, then shift into rev, then remove the two bolts, that should expose the coupler. ( you should be able to feel the coupler with your finger, just up out of sight in the pic)