Johnson motor won't go into gear, please help!

[Lalli]

Hello out there! We just got a boat with an old motor from our dad. We changed the gear lube in the lower unit, hooked up the battery and gas, took it out on the water and everything worked great. We turned the engine off a few times throughout the hour or so, and after starting it again the last time, the motor would not go into forward or reverse! I really don't know where to start. I don't even know the year or name of the motor we have. I do have the model and serial numbers though. They are:
Model Number: FD-11
Serial Number: 1515057
I think the side says that it is a 16HP, but I'm not positive. Can anyone please give me any information? Thank you in advance. We are anxious to get this motor working again. It did so good, and then it just wouldn't shift into gear...

 

[F_R]

Re: Johnson motor won't go into gear, please help!

An FD-11 is a 1957 Johnson 18hp. So you have the electric starter kit? Those are hard to come by.

Your shifter interlock may be worn, allowing it to jam. Try retarding the throttle toward slow and see if it will shift then. If you are trying to shift it when not running, you need to twirl the propeller while shifting to allow the gears to "fit".

 

[Lalli]

Re: Johnson motor won't go into gear, please help!

By the way, do you happen to know the correct oil/gas mixture proportions needed for this motor? Thanks for the help.

 

[Lalli]

Re: Johnson motor won't go into gear, please help!

I just wanted to post this for anyone having the same problem we did. The shear pin holding the propeller in place was, sheared...

We replaced the pin and bought a back up one for a grand total of $2 from our local marine shop and our engine is up and running. Thanks for the advice! We noticed what the problem was when the propeller would continue to turn freely when either the forward or reverse gear was engaged.