TOPIC: Johnson Hydro-Electric Drive, blessing or curse?

Howdy folks, just received a 1970 MFG. It has the infamous 1970 Johnson 60 that won't shift out of foward. The shifter selector switch in the remote control had its share of issues, all which should be repairable. After removing the lower unit, I discovered there was no fluid, and the white milk does not count. When I spin the input shaft, the gearbox sounds like it is crushing rocks. Complete rebuild. Question: Is it worth it? I can source all the bearings, clips and seals to do the job, but am I just going to have the same problems everybody else has with this gearbox? The engine has low hours, and the powerhead is in outstanding condition for a 43 year old engine. On a good day, was this engine that good?

Welcome to the group Bdogatx. Parts for this unit are hard to come by and when you find them they cost alot. If it has been run with anything except type c oil in the lower unit it will be toast. The soliniods are really hard to find these days.You would most likely be better off to find a good lower unit than trying to buy parts for this one. This is one of those love it or hate it things with this lower unit. More people will jump in here and may be able to offer abit more advice on this unit. Good luck, Skip.

Are you pulling up on the driveshaft when you turn it ??---It does make a difference in how they feel !!

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Hydro-electric units are well engineered / well built / very reliable and as for good used parts it depends on where you are.

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Some areas of the land they are plentiful and reasonably priced.

Be sure that you have power going down to the coils. The unit is fail safe forward gear. If you loose a coil (or both) you can get back to the dock

As said the are very dependable and about the only thing that will cause them to fail is water in the LU.

Many time the wire is pinched

Going price on the coils from a dealer is 120 to 150.

however you can find them cheaper

Contact the seller he may still have them for sale

Running with oil other than type-C does NOT DESTROY the lower unit.----It may not shift properly ,no damage will ne done to gears and bearings.--It is abundantly clear that these units are not well understood !

My biggest retaining ring pliers are too short to reach the retaining rings. They are a long way down. And after these two, there is another even deeper? Guess i'm finally going to buy those ratcheting retaining ring pliers (Snap-On $100) i've needed all these years. All the bearings I have come across have been intact. The further I take it apart, the more noise it seems to make. Oh boy.

I have 2 of those big plier sets.--One has those special extention tips on it to get to that third snap ring.

Would it be possible to get the brand/number of those pliers with the extended tips? I cannot find them. All I find has the ratchet mechanism that will not go down the hole. I found a cheap set($35) on Ebay that I could remove the ratchet on and not feel bad about it.

Factory tools ----Picked those up about 35 years ago.

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Don,t know part # or availability at this time.

Right out of the 2013 Evinrude/BRP factory tool catalog

Pliers p/n 331045 $173.97
Replacement tips set p/n 395967 $17.31

How good are you at making go with home made tools?

Grind the tips down to the size you want, or cut the tips flat , drill a hole for the size that you need for the tips(taken from a set of snap ring Pliers) glued in placed

www.harborfreight.com/16-inch-long-reach-pliers-set-38598.html

www.harborfreight.com/11-inch-long-reach-needlenose-pliers-with-straight-jaws-39538.html

From the OMC special tools catalogue of 1971.

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Extension tips / adapters for # 7 pliers ,removal of the snap ring that holds the oil pump on hydro-electric shift.

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# 383172

Been There! Done That!

They are a very good engine, but you have to be sure you assemble them back together very carefully in order for them to work properly.

Heres a link to my thread when I was fighting mine last summer.

www.fiberglassics.com/fiberglassics-forums/home/member-projects/1963-starcraft-14-ranger-project#63385

You may find it informative...... if not humorous.

REMEMBER: You have nothing to lose by trying.

Found a 2 piece set of 16" jumbo internal and external retaining ring pliers on Ebay for $37. The ratchet mechanism is removable. Score! I am a Harley technician by trade, and have needed these for a transmission retaining ring for years. The shop always supplied them. Thanks for all the legwork guys. When I get them and finish disassembling the lower unit, I will let y'all know what I find. Hopefully no major carnage. Is it worth joining the AOMCI, or are all you guys already on this website?

bdogatx wrote:

Found a 2 piece set of 16" jumbo internal and external retaining ring pliers on Ebay for $37. The ratchet mechanism is removable. Score! I am a Harley technician by trade, and have needed these for a transmission retaining ring for years. The shop always supplied them. Thanks for all the legwork guys. When I get them and finish disassembling the lower unit, I will let y'all know what I find. Hopefully no major carnage. Is it worth joining the AOMCI, or are all you guys already on this website?

It is worth joining, however to be on the forum it cost nothing...just join the forum.

At one time you did not even have to join the forum, however the spammers put a stop to that