Hi, thanks for getting back to me. I have tried a drift on the shoulder of both the bushing under the water pump and the pinion gear/bearing without movement. Banging on them pretty hard too. Used ‘spot check’ dye on skeg and see no sign of any crack. I have looked the fwd., rev. Gear and dog over and they look pretty good. I am hoping I can find a place to get replacement parts as I don’t have a good feeling about getting the remaining bits and pieces out without terminal damage. I hopefully got some pics attached to this reply to show what’s happening. Thanks again. Tom

Hi: we were away for a bit and I finally got to the yard today to look at that wiring thing. The wire is actually a pair of light gage conductors that go from a small short cylindrical thing mounted under the starter gear ring and slightly inside the outside edge of it, to the two pronged ‘plug’ that protrudes through the front of the pan and just behind the ‘handle’ where steering cable connector hooks on. The small cylindrical thing is flat on the end that mounts to its bracket and rounded on the opposite end. The whole thing is about one inch long, and maybe .85 “ in dia. Wires enter it through a ‘potted’ (I think) hole in the side at the flat end adjacent to the bracket. It is on the stbd. Side of the engine. Hope the pics show well. As good as I could get today. With no connection beyond this little cylinder, I am thinking it is not a kill switch connection but…. any guesses anyone? Oh, I downloaded the red book and can’t find a reference to this thing either.

• This reply was modified 4 years ago by Mumbles.

You may be right on the money! There is a non Johnson tach on the dash. I thought it could be a tach driver earlier but I was thinking a Hall effect pick up which wasn’t around in 1959 which is when I think the tach was put in. That means sort of aftermarket original equip. When I thought the Hall effect pick up wasn’t possible I threw that idea of a tach sensor out. I’ll bet you are right. The boat is upside down just now and it’s quite difficult to get under to trace the wiring. But I’ll bet that’s where it goes! Nice job. Just a simple coil shooting pulses to the tach? Even the right shape isn’t it. Thanks! I owe you a beer. Regards Tom

Total clean and inspection yesterday and last night spent my last dime on ordering the parts that I couldn’t find elsewhere buying from Marineengines.com. They are expensive! Scored shaft will be fixed with SPF Speedi Seal. One above the water pump and one below. Inquiries showed weld/grind not a good ides on that small;l a shaft dia. (5/8″) so the Speedi Seal will work but will have to replace it every time the impeller is changed in the future. I guess I should ask on the classified forum if anyone has a driveshaft in primo condition, maybe I will do that now as it will be awhile before parts arrive so I can reassemble the gear case anyway. Meanwhile, back to working on the boat itself. See Ya Tom