johnson 1988 40 hp help please

Hi All,

So i just bought my first boat. Its a aluminum 4.4 with foward steering. Johnson 1988 40hp. The third time a went fishing my misses managed to wrap the anchor rope around the prop. Now i cant go foward only reverse. ! we had to reverse the boat back to the ramp. when i got home put the ear muff on and tried to run in foward and reverse. when i put the gear in foward the prop only spins when reved. when i put the rear in reverse the prop spins much faster without any revs.

Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

thanks T

Unhook your linkage at the motor and see if it shifts correctly by hand.

This doesn't sound good.
Wrapping something around the prop shaft will not change the shift adjustments so...............
Before you disconnect any linkage, pull the lower drain screw out of the gearcase housing and see if there are any metal chunks on the magnet. Am betting there are. This is the large flat blade screw, not the Phillips head. It will be located forward and almost down to the skeg.
Let us know what you find on it.

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=332698#p332698 said:

Pappy » Today, 12:56[/url]"]This doesn't sound good.
Wrapping something around the prop shaft will not change the shift adjustments so...............
Before you disconnect any linkage, pull the lower drain screw out of the gearcase housing and see if there are any metal chunks on the magnet. Am betting there are. This is the large flat blade screw, not the Phillips head. It will be located forward and almost down to the skeg.
Let us know what you find on it.

Click to expand...

I agree wrapping something around the prop won't change the shift linkage but someone slamming the shifter if they are unaware something is around the prop will. I was actually hoping for the best.

You most likely are correct, if it was mine it would be the worst case scenario.

Sounds to me like you spun the bushing in the prop. If that is the case it is not too bad to repair. Take the prop off and take it to your local prop repair shop.

[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=333542#p333542 said:

toomuchfun » Today, 10:02[/url]"]Sounds to me like you spun the bushing in the prop. If that is the case it is not too bad to repair. Take the prop off and take it to your local prop repair shop.

Click to expand...

Prop bushing wouldn't slip like he described when running on muffs with no resistance other than air.