66 johnson FD20

[66-johnson]

I recently purchased a 1966 johnson FD20. I ended up having to replace the impeller on the lower unit. Once I did that it runs awesomen now. The only problem is it does not want to stay in gear. It kicks out of drive. The lever does not move. Is there something I need to adjust.

 

[racerone]

When you installed the bolt in the shift connecter , was the notch on the rod lined up with the hole for the bolt ?-----And have you considered that the hub in the prop is slipping ??

 

[fdrgator]

Or worn out shift linkage under the powerhead? Often a result of continued running with a worn-out clutch dog, which beats the linkage to death.

 

[joereeves]

In agreement with both members above.

If the unit simply slips out of gear so to speak... that usually indicates a slipping prop hub, the engine sitting too high on the transom, that sort of thing.

If, however, the unit feels like it's constantly hitting a submerged object... it's jumping out of gear and back into gear.

The most common error made when replacing the water pump or any individual component of the pump is to not aligning that groove on the shift rod with the bolt hole properly in that brass shift connector as racerone suggests.