Posted by R. L. Winter on May 17, 2004 at 23:55:20

I bought a motor from a old guy hard on his luck and going thru a divorce. It's a 18 h.p. Evenrude, Fastwin, late 60's model. I tossed it on my fishing boat, trailered it up to one of my favorite lakes and gave it a wet run. It ran for about two miles and the lower unit began to buck - like it was trying to pop out if the water. When I let off the throttle it calmed down a tad, but the thing still popped a shere pin all by itself. I thank God that I didn't bring my seven year old daughter with me, as I wound up paddling about four miles back to my trailer. This happened during a bass tournament, and boats with over 200 h.p. engines merely waked me into the reed while I was paddling in obvious distress. Bastards!

The lower unit is fine for its age. However, the shift cable is worn and there is no spacer or washer before and after the prop.

The outboard runs like a charm as long as I'm willing to keep replacing the pins. Given the fact that I need multi-level spine surgery and dual knee replacaments, I would just as soon avoid any further need to make open water repair jobs.

I'm just trying to get as much fun in as possible prior to my operations and I'd like to have some of those moments with my daughter. I need to know how to correct the on and off shifting/bucking problem that my motor is expressing before I will feel comfotarable enough to take my daughter out onthe water ( fishing, tubing, skiing, etc.) When I was EIght, I learned how to water ski behind a 10 h.p. Johnson on a 14' fiberglass boat.

If there is any help available out there, I'd appreciate it.