lower unit removal, leaking oil.

[ryan04]

(1972 125hp johnson)From my other post, (sorry about two) I don't really know where to go from here. There is oil leaking from one of the bolts holding the lower unit on and from the seam around the cavitation plate, and from behind the prop. I'm going to pull the unit off and replace the seals. My question is I'm reading alot of the motor has to be in reverse to remove. Mine is electric shift so how do I accomplish that?

 

[iwombat]

Re: lower unit removal, leaking oil.

Hold on a sec before pulling that LU. What does the oil look like? If it's dark and sooty it's probably just unburnt oil from the fuel coming out through the exhaust.

 

[ryan04]

Re: lower unit removal, leaking oil.

the oil around the cavitation plate was pretty sooty, but the oil behind the prop was just black oil.

 

[iwombat]

Re: lower unit removal, leaking oil.

Still sounds like exhaust to me. Any water intrusion or fluid loss in the LU?

 

[ryan04]

Re: lower unit removal, leaking oil.

when I checked the oil a couple weeks ago there were a few drops of water as in 3 or 4. That was the first time of the season looking at it, so when I pulled the plug and the drops came out followed by some very thin oil but not gushing out just kind of a fast dribble.

 

[iwombat]

Re: lower unit removal, leaking oil.

I could help you more if I had any idea what the electric shift fluid looked like with water intrusion, but I don't.

I still think the black oil is just exhaust, especially given where you've been seeing it. But, if you've found water in the LU that's the real deal. Have you tried replacing the seals on the fill plugs? That's a pretty common source of leaks.

 

[ryan04]

Re: lower unit removal, leaking oil.

No I haven't, I just assumed they all need to be changed. your doing a great job talking me off this ledge I'm on!! LOL

 

[iwombat]

Re: lower unit removal, leaking oil.

If you really want to get to the bottom of it all, pull the LU and pressure test it. Or, pull it and take it to a shop and have them pressure and vacuum test it.

If it were me and I didn't have a pressure tester, I'd replace the plug seals and inspect it for water the next time I ran it.

 

[iwombat]

Re: lower unit removal, leaking oil.

Just to be clear, I'm talking about the seals under the fill/drain plugs.

 

[ryan04]

Re: lower unit removal, leaking oil.

That's exactly what I thought you meant. I agree completely, I'll replace the drain plug seals and check for water after I've taken it out. thanks alot for the feedback, it's wicked being able to bounce info off somebody! thanks for your time dude!

 

[iwombat]

Re: lower unit removal, leaking oil.

In the meantime, if someone else knows what electric-shift LU fluid looks like when mixed with water they might want to chime up.

 

[iwombat]

Re: lower unit removal, leaking oil.

Oh, and don't forget to replace the fluid along withe the drain plug seals. If you do have a water issue you'll need fresh fluid for a proper test.