Shear oin on johnson 1961 ish fd15

"I feel like i am starting to

"I feel like i am starting to live in these forums! darn boat. anyway so there i was boating on a beautiful day all the way accross the lake when the gears started "slipping" almost and now the motor still runs great but its always in neutral now, you shift to forward and reverse and you dont go anywhere. I am told the shear pin might have ccome loose or broken? could this be? where is it located? other possibilties?
Thanks!"

"It does sound like a shear pi

"It does sound like a shear pin (hopefully that's all it is).
Remove the cotter pin and nut from the prop.
There is a hole through the prop shaft and a notch on the backside of the prop for the shear pin to sit. Whatever you do DON'T use a nail or other hard metal object. A shear pin is made of softer metal that is designed to break on impact. If you hit an obstical with the wrong shear pin you will risk doing unrepairable damage to your outboard. While some people have cut brass welding rods to size, I prefer to go to my local marine dealer and cough up a couple bucks for the proper part."

Actually you may find that the

Actually you may find that the motor is equipped with a " drive pin " made out of steel. The prop has a rubber hub to protect gears. Now if you do your boating in shallow water you may want to install a brass pin to save damage to the prop. Your choice.