Trouble with remote controls on 1978 Johnson

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DiveLiberty

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Two posts in two days, can you tell my mind is on getting the boat ready for spring???

I've got a 1978 Johnson 35 hp with remote controls. My controls setup is identical to the one at this link: https://www.marineengine.com/parts/johnson-evinrude-accessories/index.php?year=1978&model=Remote+Control+1978&section=Remote+Control+Single+Motor&yid=34192&mid=34198&sid=36361

Last year I had a hard time getting the shift control correctly adjusted. More accurately, I had a hard time KEEPING it adjusted. I would adjust it using the black nylon adjusting nut (part #55) and it would run fine for a while. However, after a few days, I would run it and it would fall out of gear and into neutral. I'd adjust it back and it would be fine for another day or two. It almost seems as though the threaded rod isn't staying put in relation to the adjusting nut, or slipping somehow. One thing I noticed when examining this diagram is that I don't have any retaining clips (part #48) so I ordered a few of those. It doesn't appear that those would affect the actual adjustment though, more like a fail safe to keep the cables in place.

One thought I had, the nylon adjusting nut does seem to be a bit loose, has anybody ever found that replacing those makes for a better/tighter fit? I may give this a shot and see if it makes a difference. It should be noted that these cables (and therefore adjusting nut) are only 2 years old. I hate the feeling of cruising at WOT and wondering if the motor is going to fall out of gear due to cable adjustments. Not to mention the wear this puts on my gears.

FWIW, I do think its the cable as when I unhook the cable and shift manually on the side of the motor, it seems to be fully and securely in gear.
 
Was hoping someone else would dive into this one.......
There are quite a few ways to go on this since you didn't really provide a lot of information.
First... the Simplex style control has no detent or cam lock to effectively lock the gearcase into forward.
Second... in 1978 the gearcase you are talking about is nowhere near as robust a gearcase as in later years starting with 1982 in which it became pretty much bulletproof.
Third...The bad news. Once a gearcase starts jumping out of gear it is usually a matter of time before you have to go into it and repair it.
If you really think the gearcase is still in good shape the very best advice you can get here would be to go to a single handle control. Period!
 

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