lower foot leaking water on water ears question 115 V4

[BrianRuss]

i got a 76 Johnson 115 V4 seahorse that has some water leaking around the bottom gasket where the foot connects to the shaft/motor when i connect the water ears.
it leaks water pretty good right above the foot there.
would this cause it to run crappy and have other problems?
im thinking i will replace the water pump and this gasket and fix it.
any advise?
the fuel pump has issues as it wont go full throttle under load in the water im thinking this could be causing issues as well.
definitely not running up to par.

 

[Vic.S]

Re: lower foot leaking water on water ears question 115 V4

I dont think you will find there is a gasket in this joint. Just metal to metal. If the joint faces get corroded it will leak. It does not matter

 

[boobie]

Re: lower foot leaking water on water ears question 115 V4

Start with the basics. Do a compression and spark test. Use an open air gap spark tester set at 7/16 ".

 

[BrianRuss]

Re: lower foot leaking water on water ears question 115 V4

im getting great spark and it runs great in the driveway with the water ears.. it just starving for fuel and ive rebuilt and cleaned the carbs which was easier than i thought.in the process of getting a new fuel pump mine was worn out.
so it doesnt matter if its leaking water out of this area bad?
someone put rtv on there at one point ..
hers a pic of where and what im talking about

 

[BrianRuss]

Re: lower foot leaking water on water ears question 115 V4

i got alot of water leaking from that area with the water ears connected...should i fix this ?

 

[BrianRuss]

Re: lower foot leaking water on water ears question 115 V4

i got alot of water leaking from that area with the water ears connected...should i fix this ?

what you guys think?

 

[Bosunsmate]

Re: lower foot leaking water on water ears question 115 V4

Is the motor cooling ok?

if its cooling ok the thick exhaust seal that joins gearbox exhaust port to leg may be pinched or corroded even then its no problem so its up to you

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: lower foot leaking water on water ears question 115 V4

The only gasket in that area is at the exhaust tube INSIDE the housing. It is a rubber gasket and is easily pinched when reinstalling the lower unit. It's possible yours is missing, too. Whatever water is coming out is more than likely at the END of its cooling purpose and won't hurt anything by doing so, but the motor may run a little louder as it's possible exhaust is leaking out, too.

 

[BrianRuss]

Re: lower foot leaking water on water ears question 115 V4

oh sweet guys i really do appreciate the feedback and pointers here.ty very much.
i added a pic here to show up close there is actually a gasket there ..i dont know why but its there .
thanx again for the advise guys.

 

[BrianRuss]

Re: lower foot leaking water on water ears question 115 V4

and where the waters leaking out is where the gasket is broke out and water pours out of these spots pretty fast.

 

[Bosunsmate]

Re: lower foot leaking water on water ears question 115 V4

Il look up that model motor but ive never come across a gasket there on any motor of any brand.
Id say that someone has decided to not buy the seal that goes inside in the exhaust chamber.
Looks like you can either put up with it but id suggest dropping the leg and putting in the proper seal

 

[Bosunsmate]

Re: lower foot leaking water on water ears question 115 V4

Have you got a model #
Id say its this seal that they didnt replace.
314937 — SEAL,GEARCASE TO INNER HSG. $17

Often they fall out when you a doing the impeller, they seem like they wont when you drop the leg but they do when you a fiddling around so they can be left behind by accident.
In other instances some people struggle installing them so leave them out.
They shouldnt be a problem to install so long as you get rid of all the crud on the mating surfaces

 

[BrianRuss]

Re: lower foot leaking water on water ears question 115 V4

Il look up that model motor but ive never come across a gasket there on any motor of any brand.
Id say that someone has decided to not buy the seal that goes inside in the exhaust chamber.
Looks like you can either put up with it but id suggest dropping the leg and putting in the proper seal

oh cool thanx for the advise.i didn't know what to think when you guys said it wasn't supposed to have a gasket there.
I'm like a brand new noob with outboards and looking for advise cause i don't have a clue whats supposed to be going on with this thing...ill drop the leg and do some research and see if i can get the seals and all worked out.
appreciate it

 

[Bosunsmate]

Re: lower foot leaking water on water ears question 115 V4

No worries.
When it comes to outboards you often find things which arent meant to be there which are always the result of trying to adjust for something not being done right the first time.
It does create confusion.
They may of used some form of gasket maker there so be sure you have the shift shaft disconnected as it will probably take some forcing to get it off. You might need to heat it up with a torch to get the gasket goo (if that is what they used) to let go.

Have a productive time of it, im off to work, i dont walk around with a cyber helmet, but i will check in later

 

[BrianRuss]

Re: lower foot leaking water on water ears question 115 V4

awesome ill tear into it and see whats going on and post up what i find

 

[achris]

Re: lower foot leaking water on water ears question 115 V4

By the look of the photos, someone also had the same thought as you (there should be a gasket) and put a load of silli stuff on it :facepalm:... There has never been a gasket used on that joint, by any manufacturer of any outboard I have ever worked on, not even the stern-drives have a gasket there...

If there's plenty of water leaking out, that's a good thing... It means plenty of water is getting INTO (the cooling system of) the engine....

Chris.....

 

[BrianRuss]

Re: lower foot leaking water on water ears question 115 V4

that's good to know.the water leaking there gets fairly warm / hot pretty fast so that makes sense.
still gonna tear it down today to check impeller and get rid of that gasket.
thanks again everyone for the awesome help

 

[BrianRuss]

Re: lower foot leaking water on water ears question 115 V4

so i got the leg off and allk the gasket material cleaned off the mating surface..im gonna just put it back metal to metal.
i took a pic of the impeller..do you guys think i should replace it?
please let me know it seems pretty decent no scratches on the fins to speak of.

 

[BrianRuss]

Re: lower foot leaking water on water ears question 115 V4

oh and theres a exhaust gasket that went in there that was all messed up and pinched...should i got a new one of those?
you can see it in this pic.it had the same gasket on the mid section as well..is there supposed to be 2 gaskets like this?
and should i get a new one?

 

[achris]

Re: lower foot leaking water on water ears question 115 V4

That impeller should be replaced, no question!