Reply To: Double Lever Manual Shift-Johnson Sea-Master

[danblue]

Good morning frankr, and thanks for the reply! Mine is the real old one with round knobs in excellent operating condition. I blew the powerhead a few years back on my 1957 Evinrude Big Twin, and I sent it the motor to a member in Maryland to replace the original 1957 powerhead with a 1958 powerhead. When I took the motor off to send to the guy for repair, I disconnected the Throttle and Shit lines from the motor as I had done many times before, and I put the boat in my garage covered and it stayed like that for the two years until I got the motor back. I touched NOTHING on the shit box and I touched nothing on the cables. I simply disconnected the motor, and put the boat away. Unfortunately, my motor repair guy kept the motor for over 2 years. Finally when I got the motor back, I set it on the back of my 15 foot wood boat, hooked up the two cables for the Throttle and Shift, and everything seemed fine. Motor runs great, but the Throttle AND Shit levers are a bit sloppy now and move a bit whereas before I sent the motor to have repaired, both were nice and stiff. Just this weekend, I couldn’t get the motor started! I have an electric push button start. It was trying to start as normal & I ended up having to move the Shit lever up just a tiny bit out of the Neutral position, and when I did, the engine found its “sweet spot” and fired right up. Prior to the motor being sent for repair, When the Shit lever was set to Neutral, it was set to Neutral. When I needed to shift Forward or Reverse, I would use quick motions to move forward/reverse..all operated fine. My point is, I just can’t imagine The issue is coming from the Shift Box..I would think it’s coming from where the cables attached to the motor, and I wanted to check with all of you pros before I start pulling things apart because I know nothing about this stuff! I do have the ELOC 1956-1970 Johnson/Evinrude Repair Manual, but it only covers potential problems when the Shift Lever is too stiff, or if the Throttle Lever won’t go all the way forward, etc…nothing to address sloppy or lose Levers. Thanks so much of any insight!