MASTERBrian
Petty Officer 3rd Class
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2011
- Messages
- 84
I recently picked up a 1990 Bass Buggy Pontoon with a 1995 Johnson 50 HP Outboard. I was told the lower unit had a leak and that he thought it needed a carb kit, he even thought it had issues going into reverse. When I got it home I did some routine maintenance, changed the fluid, put in fresh oil/gas and ran a decarb on the motor. I fired her up at home in a tank and she sounded good and seemed to have it shifting into reverse just fine. The problem with reverse seems to be the safety lockout on the control at the helm, that'll be a different thread later on....
This past weekend I finally got her out and have decided that a carb kit is probably a great place to start, so I'll get that ordered later today. As for the shifting, that never seemed to be an issue other than possibly needing to work on the controller, but the lower unit has me concerned.... Like I said I put in fresh fluid after completely draining it and picked up some new drain plug gaskets. When I got to the lake, before she ever saw water, I checked the fluid and it was already looking a bit milky....why would that be? Like I said, I had completely drained and refilled! After running the boat for maybe 1/2hr to hour I loaded her up and checked the fluid again. It does appear some water ran out when I loosened the drain plugs, so I put some fluid in a clear plastic bottle. It does look like water is settling on top. So now, I am wondering.....do I replace the lower unit seals myself or take to the dealer?
I know that is a bit of a loaded question, let me explain....they've said about 3-4hrs at $70 hour plus parts, which 'SHOULD' be about $300-$400 range to replace seals and pressure check and of course look everything else over. To me that's fair and doable, BUT....if it's a very simple task to do this myself, I'd rather save the $$$. I have rebuilt my XP150 P.H., so I am probably capable, but I'm wondering how complex these lower units are. How do they pressure test them? Is it fairly obvious if something else is out of whack? Without looking real far into this, it seems it's the seal right behind the prop, as I see what appears to be fluid at that point.
I'm also wondering if I should just order the carb kit, see how she runs after that, then take her in. The boat sat for a couple of years, then went out once last year, and then again sat until this year. I'm betting the carb gummed up and the seals dried out.
This past weekend I finally got her out and have decided that a carb kit is probably a great place to start, so I'll get that ordered later today. As for the shifting, that never seemed to be an issue other than possibly needing to work on the controller, but the lower unit has me concerned.... Like I said I put in fresh fluid after completely draining it and picked up some new drain plug gaskets. When I got to the lake, before she ever saw water, I checked the fluid and it was already looking a bit milky....why would that be? Like I said, I had completely drained and refilled! After running the boat for maybe 1/2hr to hour I loaded her up and checked the fluid again. It does appear some water ran out when I loosened the drain plugs, so I put some fluid in a clear plastic bottle. It does look like water is settling on top. So now, I am wondering.....do I replace the lower unit seals myself or take to the dealer?
I know that is a bit of a loaded question, let me explain....they've said about 3-4hrs at $70 hour plus parts, which 'SHOULD' be about $300-$400 range to replace seals and pressure check and of course look everything else over. To me that's fair and doable, BUT....if it's a very simple task to do this myself, I'd rather save the $$$. I have rebuilt my XP150 P.H., so I am probably capable, but I'm wondering how complex these lower units are. How do they pressure test them? Is it fairly obvious if something else is out of whack? Without looking real far into this, it seems it's the seal right behind the prop, as I see what appears to be fluid at that point.
I'm also wondering if I should just order the carb kit, see how she runs after that, then take her in. The boat sat for a couple of years, then went out once last year, and then again sat until this year. I'm betting the carb gummed up and the seals dried out.