1969 johnson hydro-electric shift problem

[awdgraybird]

ok so i am trying to help my buddy fix a boat he picked up a couple years ago. it has a 1969 johnson 115 v4 hydro-electric shift on it i have read all i can find on them. when i started with it it had only forward found it had bad seals and had water in the lower unit so i pulled it put new seals in it and a new water pump and filled with omc premium blend. it now has forward and neutral but no reverse so i pulled it again and turned it over with a drill and put power to the green wire for nuetral and could not even get that so what i am wondering is first what i am doing wrong that it is not shifting by putting power to it. what is the likley problem with it and were i can find a factory service manual for the thing thanx

 

[awdgraybird]

Re: 1969 johnson hydro-electric shift problem

any help would be great

 

[tallwill38]

Re: 1969 johnson hydro-electric shift problem

Hey you can check E-Bay for factory manuals there is usually some available on there but I haven't looked for your particular one.As far as the hydro-electric shift problem you need type C gear oil only its really thin like automatic transmission fluid.How did you apply power to the green wire ? Did you supply it a ground at the same time as applying 12V if so it should go in to Neutral?Let me know what you find and I'll try and help you figure it out.

 

[ohioriverat]

Re: 1969 johnson hydro-electric shift problem

I owned a 70hp electric shift and when i put a water pump in it the wires feeding down the housing were corroded, you may have to feed them out and inspect them and there connections. I don't know of any parts available for this motor but at least you have forward and a paddle for reverse if that helps.lol

 

[awdgraybird]

Re: 1969 johnson hydro-electric shift problem

the motor has type c in it wich is now called premium blend. i turned it over grounded the gear case and put power to it with my power probe which puts 12 volts and nothin i checked the ohms on the solenoids and they both were at six. i have tested everything in the whole system and the only thing that i dunno if checks right is the shift diodes on the motor i get a reading both ways with them not just one way like the one in the ignition. i am really stumped here i also got a factory manual and did all the checks in there

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: 1969 johnson hydro-electric shift problem

You may not have been getting enough pump pressure by "turning it over" with a drill. Your gearbox will not shift without sufficient pump pressure. You could also have pump problems in general, or a shift piston that is stuck. Often times, gearcases that have suffered from water intrusion, also suffer from grit issues.

Might be time to pull the gearcase apart.

 

[awdgraybird]

Re: 1969 johnson hydro-electric shift problem

how hard is it to pull this gear case apart and put back together are there any special tools needed

 

[ohioriverat]

Re: 1969 johnson hydro-electric shift problem

I believe you need the long snap ring tool, luckily i picked one up years ago while in school.the rest is very easy at least to me. good luck you have nothing to loose.