merc850
Commander
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2010
- Messages
- 2,027
Anyone who owns a 70's and earlier motor should take a good look at the upper shift shaft, I fixed mine 5 yrs. ago by welding in a piece to "jump" the corroded area and this year it failed leaving me without reverse; so I had a guy weld it but it had twisted and I couldn't get it to line up properly. A friend of mine heated it and twisted it to line up properly but it was still off a few degrees.
If you have a motor that has been sitting in salt water or some river/canal for 20+ years take the powerhead off and check the shaft for any corrosion and fix it before it fails! My shaft is still available from some marinas in the U.S. (for $85) but I bought another whole motor for $200 and it has a clean shaft.
It's worth the price of a gasket to examine this shaft and repair/replace it before it fails.
If you have a motor that has been sitting in salt water or some river/canal for 20+ years take the powerhead off and check the shaft for any corrosion and fix it before it fails! My shaft is still available from some marinas in the U.S. (for $85) but I bought another whole motor for $200 and it has a clean shaft.
It's worth the price of a gasket to examine this shaft and repair/replace it before it fails.
