Re: Replacing the clutch dog on a 1957 35 hp johnson

[Don]

quote 1Aquaholic:

I would suggest you post your location and see if anyone from the club is close to you. They can help you and tutor you. This is a great club, and there are many people that will help you out if you ask! Especially since you don’t have much mechanical experience.
1Aquaholic

This is excellent advice. In my opinion, doing this job correctly is not as easy as many (along with how to videos) would have you believe. Sure, it looks easy, but getting one of these clam shell gearcases properly sealed up again is a delicate and precise task indeed. This is best described as a "zero tolerance" repair. Even the slightest water leak will eventually lead to problems and gearcase failure. There are special tools required to do the job, and some prior experience is usually a good thing.
I guess the best way to describe this project might be to compare it to a slight oil leak in a car engine. A car engine has a dipstick, the oil level is easily checked, and topped off if necessary. We usually don’t worry much about the slight oil leaks that develop in an older car engine because of this. There is no real easy way to check the oil level in an outboard gearcase, trying to add oil is a pain as well. There is one other factor that must be considered in the case of the outboard gearcase as well. Let’s just say you were vigilant in checking gear lube level frequently, and found it to be "full". The question is: "full of what"? Water is heavier than gear lube and sits in the bottom of the gearcase, so a what appears to be a full gearcase might be filled mostly with water.
And yes, you will probably need more parts than just a clutch dog, probably a forward gear as well. And, before disassembly, you will want to attempt to determine why the clutch dog failed. New clutch dog and gears won’t last long if there is a problem with the linkage/controls that caused the initial failure.
Once the system has been checked for adjustment/wear problems, sure, go ahead and pull/disassemble the gearcase after looking at a manual or watching a video. Where are you located, hopefully there is an experienced member nearby who is willing to help….
Don