1954 Johnson 5.5hp Seahorse tiller handle problems

[diamondbro02]

I have a 1954 Johnson 5.5hp Seahorse outboard and am having problems with the gears on the tiller handle. None of the teeth on the gears are broken. However, the tiller arm gear is not making contact with the gear on the throttle side. Is there some way to adjust the gears to move them closer to one another? Or, is there some sort of washer or spacer in the tiller arm that is bad, thus causing the tiller gear to move away from the throttle gear? If so, does anyone have any parts numbers for the washers that I may can order and change out myself?

 

[steelespike]

Re: 1954 Johnson 5.5hp Seahorse tiller handle problems

There are a couple of washers involved with the tiller gear parts could be worn.Also check the throttle tower for play both vertical and horizontal.I believe that there are rubber leg mounts that may be collapsed
might cause difficulty with throttle gears on some motors.

 

[F_R]

Re: 1954 Johnson 5.5hp Seahorse tiller handle problems

Throttle problems were common in that era. Around 1956 they changed to cast gears with larger teeth, which cured the problem. For yours, go to Ace Hardware and get an assortment of plastic washers and shim the gears till they work.

 

[1946Zephyr]

Re: 1954 Johnson 5.5hp Seahorse tiller handle problems

yea, I second that, F_R. The shaft should be removed completely, cleaned up and re-installed with the proper shimming, so the gears mesh good.

In 1955 and 56, OMC, made a lot of changes in the way the hardware was built, so it was much simpler and more reliable. The earlier stuff will work out okay, if treated good and lubed properly, but when they wear too much, they often give trouble. Fortunately, cables were removed from the throttle linkage and and easier to replace.