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Dave Sharkey

D

Dave Sharkey

New member
Hello,

I have a 1985 Johnson 70 HP VRO. I just replaced the water pump and when I put the boat in the water it would not go into reverse. I figured I must have accidently unscrewed the shift rod a turn or so, so I disconnected the the shift rod and made one complete clockwise turn and reconnected it. The next day I put the boat in the water but it still would not go in reverse. Should I try to make another turn to the shift rod or is there something else I should consider... other than taking it to the mechanic? Thanks.

Dave
 
Are you sure that turning in a clockwise manner will help get reverse ????--------------The rod motion for reverse is DOWN afterall.
 
Well I'll be damned, racerone! I think you might be right. My thinking was in reverse to get to reverse, I should have turned it COUNTER clockwise. I'm going to change it right now. I'll let you know how what happens. Thanks.
 
Well, racerone, I worked for about 3 hours trying to turn the shift rod and couldn't get it to turn. There's just not enough clearance, I don't know how I did it before. Anyway, I was thinking that I could drop the lower unit about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch and turn it then. That way I wouldn't have to remove the lower unit completely. My concern is would I risk breaking the seal around the water pump and would that be a problem? Any comments?
 
pull the lower unit and adjust to the correct height.-----Parts and pieces are expensive in there and not worth risking it.
 
The service manual says to use a special tool, the Universal Shift Rod Height Guage. I priced it and it's $228.00 and it's out of stock. The manual also says the shift rod hole, in the neutral position, should be 21-23/32" to the surface of the gearcase. I wonder if I could just measure to this heigth?
 
For more than 25 years I've yet to have my tape measure forsake me. Got one? If not buy one or borrow one. Here's a little advice to those who may run into this problem in the future. When the gear case is removed turn the shift rod clockwise until it bottoms out and record the number of turns to the nearest quarter turn. Problem solved.
 
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