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1988 Johnson 40 won’t lock in reverse

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Slidla11

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Looking for some assistance. I took apart the locking mechanism which locks motor as mine doesn’t lock and comes up with throttle in reverse. There are two small springs on side of the latch hooks which mine came loose as some point (probably from hitting a log). I can’t figure out how these springs “set in place” to allow constant downward spring action to keep hooks locked down on transom rod. No power tilt or trim. The springs in question are shown as part #50 on diagram and hooks are parts 41 and 46. Any help would be appreciated. I’m pretty mechanically inclines and do all my own maintenance on this motor. Thanks! Keith
 

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1: It is NOT designed to lock down by shifting to reverse!!! It locks down by putting lever #21 (knob #98) in the "RUN" position.

2: People worry that it will not tilt up if they hit an underwater obstruction while in "RUN" position. Not to worry. the engineers thought of that. It is designed to automatically release and tilt up upon a pre-determined load. Those #50 springs are what pre-determines the force required to release it. Now that you've had it all apart, we have no way of knowing if it is reassemble correctly.

3. However, there is a simple way to test it. Put the #21 lever in the "RUN" position. Motor should now be locked down. Now, hunker down behind the motor and grab hold of the lower unit and give a hearty yank rearward. If you ate your Wheaties and yanked hard enough, it should release and tilt up. needless to say, it has to be mounted on something solid like a boat transom to do this test. A motor stand won't get it.
 
I understand it doesn’t lock down while shifting in reverse and am aware of the run/tilt lever. My motor doesn’t lock at all which means I basically have no reverse. If someone has a close up picture of how springs #50 install I can figure it out. No where is there a close up picture or diagram.
 
Sorry, I've worked on litterally hundreds of those and similar motors and can honestly say I've never taken one of those assemblies apart. Never had a reason to. They just don't ever give any trouble. But of course there is always an exception. Anyhoo, I can't provide the info you are looking for.
 
Yeah. I will check around for one just to look at. Had a friend that had a 48hp which was probably the same brackets but he sold it before I could get a chance to give it a look. It’s just a pain when I can’t give any throttle in reverse without the motor coming up. I’m sure it’s a simple fix once I get a look at one. Other than this it runs perfect. 14’ all weld flat with steering controls. Runs about 40mph. Thanks for trying tho!
 
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