89 Johnson 88 special lower unit plugs

[89Sunbird]

I recently aquired this boat from an older lady and it never left the water. The oil plugs in the lower unit were seized. I managed to free the lower one but the upper one is striped, it will turn but will not come out. How can I remove it, or at least access it? How muck oil does the unit hold?

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 89 Johnson 88 special lower unit plugs

If you can apply a little "outward" pressure the top plug should come out. I do not know how much oil it will take, but it is more than a pint, so you will need a quart anywat. BTW, what shape was the oil when you did pull the lower plug? I will bet it had never been changed.

After you get the top plug out, you will need to retap the hole for a larger plug. You may be able to find an oversize plug, check with a dealer.

 

[R.Johnson]

Re: 89 Johnson 88 special lower unit plugs

Try a left hand drill bit.

 

[Dhadley]

Re: 89 Johnson 88 special lower unit plugs

ttt

 

[89Sunbird]

Re: 89 Johnson 88 special lower unit plugs

The oil was a blue/green in color and there didnt seem to be a whole lot of it. It's a dumb question, but I will have to remove the lower unit to retap so that I can remove any shavings from tapping right? Is there any other bolts besides the two on each side to remove the lower unit?

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 89 Johnson 88 special lower unit plugs

The color of the LU lube sounds good.

The shavings from the retap should come out thru the bottom plug. You can "wash" it thru with some gas/oil mix, heavy on the oil. Don't run the motor with the wash stuff in the LU. Drain it and the shavings out and refill with some Marine LU Gear Oil. Put heavy grease on the drill bit and the tap. The grease will catch most of the shavings, before they get into the gearcase.

That will save you from disassembling the LU. That LU should take 20-25 oz of gear lube.

 

[89Sunbird]

Re: 89 Johnson 88 special lower unit plugs

Sounds great, Thank you for your time and wisdom. I will reply with the results as soon as I complete the task.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: 89 Johnson 88 special lower unit plugs

Remember the drain plug, the lower one, is magnetized and will catch any shavings you miss, clean it off the next time you change your lu oil. Dont forget to get new gaskets to install with the plugs. That is the number one spot for water intrusion. You can also flush the lu with kerosene or dielsel fuel to clean it out. There are a few more bolts other than the 4 you see. Remove the trim tab, there will probably be one underneath it. You will also need to disconnect the shift rod from the bell crank beneath your carbs.

 

[Toddo1]

Re: 89 Johnson 88 special lower unit plugs

The lower unit housing has no iron content, thus the drill chips won't be attracted to the magnet on the plug.

 

[89Sunbird]

Re: 89 Johnson 88 special lower unit plugs

All this knowledge is amazing to me, given my level of experience. I tried to remove the upper plug last night, but it isnt out far enough to get any thing behind it. I'll probobly try to drop the lower unit this weekend. I probobly need to replace the impelor anyway. Any tricks to that I need to know about?

 

[HighTrim]

Re: 89 Johnson 88 special lower unit plugs

You did not mention if you had a manual or not?? When changing the lower unit oil, make sure you remove both plugs, and fill it from the bottom until the fluid exits the vent hole (top). Re insert the vent plug, creating a vaccuum allowing you to remove the oil pump from the drain hole to re insert the drain plug. Put those new gaskets in there as well. The impeller is an excellent idea. A manual will really help with this. Hooking the shift rod back up is harder than getting it undone. Remove the prop before lowering the lu. Add some grease to the splines of the drive shaft, brush some oil onto the fins of the impeller blades, and you will need a can of gasket sealing compound for the impeller plate and housing screws. I like to clean my exhaust while the lu is down, and remove the t stats so that I can blow compressed air up the water line to ensure there is no blockage. Take a look at the water intake area as well and clean it out. Lining up that water line can be tricky by yourself and Ive seen a few times where the water line knocks the grommet on top of the impeller housing aside causing an overheating problem. Sorry about the long post but just a few things to look out for. Good luck.

 

[89Sunbird]

Re: 89 Johnson 88 special lower unit plugs

The only manual I have is the ownwers manual. I'm not too foolish when it comes to turning wrenches. But how the hell do disconnect the shift linkage. I tried to get to it last night by pulling off the lower carb but thats not enough. Is there a tool or a trick that I will need to get it loose?

 

[HighTrim]

Re: 89 Johnson 88 special lower unit plugs

Others may correct me on your specific model, but I believe your shift rod should come through the cowl or bonnet beneath and behind the starboard carb. It will be connected to a bellcrank, looks like a teeter totter, for lack of a better description. Disconnect this, and it should drop.

 

[Solittle]

Re: 89 Johnson 88 special lower unit plugs

Best to use a 1/4" drive socket with an extra long extension, a universal taped to prevent wobbleing and the socket (3/8" or 7/16" - I forget which). Access for my 1987 110s is from the starboard side through or under the shift/throttle cables.

 

[89Sunbird]

Re: 89 Johnson 88 special lower unit plugs

Sorry that it took so long to write back on this, I've been very busy. I was able to remove the lower unit and possibly learned a trick in the process. I removed the screws from the lower carband swung it out away from the intake. Beneeth the carb was a plastic guard held in by 4 small screws. I found that by removing this part, I was able to access the linkage fairly easily. Once the lower unit was removed I had to use a pry bar to hold pressure on the inside tip of the upper drain plug while tapping it around with a screwdriver. It is a pretty ugly hole it left though, I wish I could show everyone a pic. I cleaned everything that I could but the impellor seems to be stuck on the drive shaft. If there are any pointers on that it would help me alot. Thank you all for your help, I've learned alot.

 

[Big Bubba]

Re: 89 Johnson 88 special lower unit plugs

Hello from Osan AB, Korea,

Yes, back in the States I have an 88 horsepower SPL V-4 Evinrude Outboard. When I did my water pump removal/installation the shift rod is easy to remove. You don't need a socket or ratchet. Basically, you pull the pin or diaper quick release pin on the port left side of the motor where the shift/throttle linkage is at or beside and kinda behind the carbuetors just above the lower pan. Basically pull the pin and it is disconnected. When you install it have someone guide the shift shaft up by holding the upper portion with long needle nose pliers becuase the slight bend at the top of the shift shaft gets caught up just before it comes into the lower pan area, but once you clear the pan make sure it is all lined up and install the diaper pin back in and your good to go. Probably will need about three guys to do the lower leg unit install. 2 to pick the lower leg unit up and 1 to guide the shift shaft into place at each attach point. Hope this helps. I can't wait to get back home in March 2008, just in time or begginning to get into the boating season. Hopefully gas prices want be that bad, lets hope for the good. Take care, Bob

 

[Lakester]

Re: 89 Johnson 88 special lower unit plugs

89S: did you get the upper plug out yet? or did u have to drop l/u? if u still are working on, or planning to drill on that upper plug this tip may help you. i have drilled thru several alum intake manifolds installed on running engines from time to time to install a port or pipe, etc. the thot of metal in the oil system is not fun. so here is what i did and it worked just fine. i drilled my holes to tap size one drill size at a time and used light pressure, oil on tip, and all the while used strong vacuum on the drilling area. this way the drill chips coming off in small bits are sucked up quickly. if need be, taper suction end down to improve vac volocity. then once i had the drill hole for what ever tap i was using i put axel grease on tap after a drop of cutting oil on my drilled hole sides. then i started hole with vac running hard right at tap's point of entry once i saw cutting chips. and once i got it to take hold i stopped and back out the vac running all the time at the hole. may take 4 hands. then i cleaned tap, regreased and entered tapped threads startging and cut another 1/4 - 3/8s around and then did it all again, again, again, etc, vacing and cleaning tap. 99.9% of all chips were in vac cleaner. on the first job i got ancy, so i popped manifold and... no chips. so this may help you. if you do drop some chips they prob will be little more than dust and chances are running clearances will pass them on, or if gear to gear contact they will pass on by. good luck. regards, lakester