1954 Johnson CD-10 Driveshaft

[pastordwane]

Good day, First time posting. I was given a 1954 Johnson 5.5 seems to be in good shape. When I tried to pull the rope the motor would not turn over. I removed the power head and the motor turned freely. I tried to turn the drive shaft it would not turn. I took the lower unit completely apart found every thing in working order. When apart the drive shart would turn correctly. WHen I put the lower unit back together the drive shaft would not turn. Could it have something to do with the pinion gear. Any ideas

 

[asdasc]

Re: 1954 Johnson CD-10 Driveshaft

Obviously, something in there is binding. Just need to figure out what. Without the powerhead on, can you spin the prop? That will tell you if your propshaft is stuck. You say you took it all apart and everything looked ok? That doesn't leave much. If none of the parts are damaged and they all go back together smoothly, they should work.

It is a pretty simple design. Does your have Forward-Neutral-Reverse?

 

[pastordwane]

Re: 1954 Johnson CD-10 Driveshaft

Thanks for the replay, Yes the gears shift fine. When I place the gear box in neutral the prop turns freely. You are correct the design is simple, but I must be overlooking something. I will take it apart again it's simple after you have done it for the 5th time. Thank you for your information, have a great day.

 

[asdasc]

Re: 1954 Johnson CD-10 Driveshaft

Good luck with it and let me know what you find...

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: 1954 Johnson CD-10 Driveshaft

More than likely it is a broken or sprung shock absorber shaft. Below the waterpump base plate is a short stub shaft with a spring in it. These can break and cause the symptoms you're seeing. Only real fix is to replace the lower shaft. Some folks have had success having the shaft welded solid, but it takes some doing...

 

[F_R]

Re: 1954 Johnson CD-10 Driveshaft

More than likely it is a broken or sprung shock absorber shaft. Below the waterpump base plate is a short stub shaft with a spring in it. These can break and cause the symptoms you're seeing. Only real fix is to replace the lower shaft. Some folks have had success having the shaft welded solid, but it takes some doing...

Very common problem. Especially now that they are getting older. They are next to impossible to keep straight while/after welding. I know, I tried, and it didn't work.

 

[asdasc]

Re: 1954 Johnson CD-10 Driveshaft

Oddly enough, I think I may be having this issue with my '54 Evinrude 7.5hp.

I just took it apart to this weekend after getting it 2 weeks ago. It would turn over REALLY stiff, even with the plugs out and in neutral. When I pulled the lower unit, it got free as a bird and turned over really nicely.

One end of this spring contraption is blued like it got really hot at some point.

Does this whole thing spin inside the lower unit?

 

[F_R]

Re: 1954 Johnson CD-10 Driveshaft

Oddly enough, I think I may be having this issue with my '54 Evinrude 7.5hp.

I just took it apart to this weekend after getting it 2 weeks ago. It would turn over REALLY stiff, even with the plugs out and in neutral. When I pulled the lower unit, it got free as a bird and turned over really nicely.

One end of this spring contraption is blued like it got really hot at some point.

Does this whole thing spin inside the lower unit?

Yes, that is a classic example of a broken shock absorber. Look at the drawing that I previously posted. There is a very heavy spring inside the part. Normally, it all rotates as a unit. When you strike an underwater object, the lower part stops and the upper part releases. The problem occurs when that heavy spring breaks. When that happens, the spring ends ride up on each other and forces it apart, increasing the assembled length. So now it is too long for the space it is in, jamming it up and creating the heat that turned it blue and wrecked the bearing plate above.

 

[asdasc]

Re: 1954 Johnson CD-10 Driveshaft

Suddenly my 'free motor' just got more expensive....

I take it from your comments about trying to weld them, that no one makes replacements anymore?

 

[asdasc]

Re: 1954 Johnson CD-10 Driveshaft

Ah yes, I found them to be readily available....for $180!!

Hmmm, me thinks this warrents disassembly first, for further investigation.

Next time I am out there I will see if I can pull apart the spring assembly. Perhaps if it is only broken less than half way down I can just remove one peice of it.

Or perhaps it just wasn't assembled right at some point and I need to twist it to get it to seat properly. I will investigate and report back.

Thanks,

 

[asdasc]

Re: 1954 Johnson CD-10 Driveshaft

OK, I was able to investigate further. It is a broken spring. You can see it with a light about half way down. When you say you tried welding the shafts, what do you mean? It looks like you can just tap the two casings together and weld them fixed that way. This should be easy enough to keep straight, no? It doesn't look like the outside of casings have any tight tolerances.

What issues will I run into?

 

[wbeaton]

Re: 1954 Johnson CD-10 Driveshaft

OK, I was able to investigate further. It is a broken spring. You can see it with a light about half way down. When you say you tried welding the shafts, what do you mean? It looks like you can just tap the two casings together and weld them fixed that way. This should be easy enough to keep straight, no? It doesn't look like the outside of casings have any tight tolerances.

What issues will I run into?

Some folks tack weld it in a few spots and then use brass shear pins. I've welded one, but I haven't used it, yet.

 

[asdasc]

Re: 1954 Johnson CD-10 Driveshaft

Does anyone happen to have a good one of these laying around and could measure what the dimension of the shock absorber should be? I think the length of the two casings together is the critical dimension, right?

 

[wbeaton]

Re: 1954 Johnson CD-10 Driveshaft

Does anyone happen to have a good one of these laying around and could measure what the dimension of the shock absorber should be? I think the length of the two casings together is the critical dimension, right?

The overall length isn't critcal. Just as long as it doesn't bind under the bearing housing. The critcal part is making sure it is still in balance after you weld it.

 

[asdasc]

Re: 1954 Johnson CD-10 Driveshaft

Excellent point. I was just thinking about how they bind when they are broken.