Johnson CD 10 Shock Absorber question

[greg-o]

I know, I thought the same thing. There is some wear on the bearing plate, but nothing like the picture you posted, and yes the thrust washer is in place. Before I sealed up the gearcase, I installed the water pump, and indeed there was a small amount of end play, maybe .010" I cannot see any evidence of a broken spring.

[greg-o]

Is it possible they were not as precise in their machining of the gear case in those days? But it is hard to imagine they would be of by 1/8". It is a mystery to me. I have measured and red measured. 6 13/16" each time. I don’t think I want to shorten it much as it seems to be a good fit at that length.

[1946zephyr]

Are you saying that adjusting the shock absorber to the right length will give you a lot of up and down play?
If so, your upper bearing must have some pretty excessive wear. You may want to check it for out of roundness

[greg-o]

Yes, the 6 13/16 seems to be a good fit, but the bearing housing does not look to have much wear. Like I said earlier, this appears to be a low hour motor from what I have observed. Very little wear in the water pump housings. Paint was still on the power head screws so it has not been taken apart since it was manufacturered. I am going to check things, and plasti-gauge the clearance between shock and bearing housing.

Thanks once again for everyone’s imput. I will let everyone know if I learn something. I have been working with these wonderful old OMC motors for a couple of years now, so I do have a pretty good understanding of what makes them tick. But always happy to learn more.

[1946zephyr]

They are simple and good to learn on. I have had lots of those old green Johnsons over the years and they’re very reliable. Make sure you keep the mix at 16:1 on that

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