1984 Johnson 185 Lower Unit Removal Help

[Djdixon1995]

Hello. I have a J185TLCRS that I recently inherited from my Grandfather. I believe this is a crossflow style engine. It sat for a while but I have it running pretty good after carb rebuild, thermostats, prime solenoid, spark plugs, decarb, and fresh premix (VRO was deactivated years ago).

No I’m trying to remove the lower unit to service the water pump and am having difficulty disconnecting the shift linkage under the power head. The SELOC manual is not very helpful on the subject and I’ve been all over the forums reading the various techniques and setups for various engines...but haven’t been able to determine whitch pertains to this specific engine.

Does anyone know the best procedure for disconnecting (and later reconnecting) the shift linkage for the purpose of lower unit removal for this engine...or know of an existing thread that would pertain to this engine?

Many thanks!

 

[racerone]

Long 1/4" drive extension with 3/8" socket.----Stand on starboard side of motor.----Look behind / under the lower carburetor for the pin..------Shoulda done this when lower carburetor was off it.----Much easier to do then.

 

[Djdixon1995]

Thanks racerone, I’ll go out and give that a shot...might end up having to pull the carbs again I guess.

 

[Djdixon1995]

So I pulled the carbs and was able to remove the 3/8” bolt that’s facing foreward. The photo is taken from the starbord side with the carbs pulled away and thd bolt removed. Am I on the right track? The lower unit is still not free...I don’t want to jack it around too much though until I’m sure I have the linkage properly disconnected.
Thanks.

 

[Faztbullet]

Put that one back in and remove the one to the right side as looking at it.

 

[Djdixon1995]

Thanks Faztbullet. So I’m going in from the port side to remove the bolt?

 

[Faztbullet]

Standing behind engine yes port side...looking at your picture it the right side of the connector you removed screw from.

 

[Djdixon1995]

Thanks. I’ll give it a try.

 

[racerone]

??----The pin is horizontal and goes through a hole in the shift rod that goes down to the lower unit.---------And the shift rod can turn..----Turning it will change the shift adjustment.-----You will want to know a specific adjustment for that.

 

[Djdixon1995]

This is the parts diagram for that engine. Which part is the pin?

 

[racerone]

Item # 3 is the pin to be removed.------If you can not find that pin then maybe the powerhead has been replaced.------Is there a serial # on the powerhead ?---Same as # on the transom bracket ?