On Fri, 12 Sep 2003 16:21:03 GMT, "Booms"
wrote:

"Joe Here" wrote in message
.. .
It could be that the "dogs" on the forward gear are worn, and
dis-engage under load. If it's not the prop (remember, there is much
less load on a prop in reverse than at WOT) I would buy a manual and
drop and split the lower unit and inspect all gears.

I have a manual that addresses Johnson engines from 1956 thru 70-something
and 1.5hp-40hp. I will have to give that a try. If only one side of the
dog is worn, is it possible to change the direction of the dog so that
reverse will slip, but forward will be ok?

I don't believe the gears can be swopped. Worn dogs can however be
built up if you know someone with a welder, milling machine & a
dividing head......tricky at best. E-bay is a better shot.

If it were my motor, instead of speculating, I would inspect the
inside first, or at the very least, drain the oil an look for metal in
the oil. This comes from personal experience with a Johnson 15 HP.

Smacked a rock a high speed (never lock the motor down, even when
reversing) motor kicked up and no apparent damage. Next oil change,
metal shavings mixed in the oil flowed out too! The thrust bearing
let go and the rollers got ground up. The main drive gear was toast,
although there were no signs of it, the motor ran perfectly. This
shows that there could something really wrong inside, and it was just
a matter of time before "bad stuff" happened!!!

After replacing main pinion gear, seals, bearings etc. She now runs
fine. A good friend was able to "dress" the dogs (square them off) to
avoid what could be your problem. There is a small detent ball that
holds the gears together, if the dogs develop a "chamfer", they'll
kick the motor into neutral

I think there is a tendancy to "ease" an outboard motor into gear, I
noticed my son doing this and corrected him. It should "clunk" into
gear to avoid grinding the dogs away. Based on the age of your motor,
there have probably been a Hundred different people at the helm, many
of them, like me, new to boating, and grinding the dogs.

If everything looks OK inside the lower unit, check (and pray) the the
splines on the drive shaft are good.

Remember, just be patient and logical when you split the lower end.

Hope this helps,