RKL-25D 40HP Johnson Electric shift - leaky lower unit

[vandenburgh]

Trying to repair an old 40HP electric shift johnson (1963) with a leaky lower unit that doesn't shift into forward. Motor came with an old starcraft I bought late last summer and now getting to fixing motor. Motor runs and PO claims to have had carb kit, needles, coil done, but said motor doesn't go into gear. I tested and indeed it runs but didnt go into gear. I repaired faulty electric shift (control box issue) and changed lower unit oil with Type C OMC premium blend oil (old oil was dirty milkshake) and motor ran well for 30minutes pushing the old girl down the lake pretty good! Got back to shore and went to take another trip, and motor wouldn't go into forward (just reverse). Checked oil and it was a milkshake again. It appears lower is leaking at the shaft and between upper and lower gearcase, and maybe elsewhere? Coils check out ok and are getting powered when shift lever shifted, but lower unit won't engage into forward (reverse only).

I have a OEM service manual for this motor and an exact same model 'parts' motor (it doesn't run, but lower gearcase looks really good compared to my 'running' engine and coils also check out OK, so I am thinking about swapping the parts motor's 'good' lower unit to my 'running' motor with a 'bad' lower unit.

To that end, I pulled off lower unit and separated lower and upper gearcase (yes i also dropped one of the pinion bearings into the lower gearcase!). I pulled gearcase head off, removed everything except the front coil and bearing. Found missing pinion bearing, cleaned out goopy oil best I could with front coil/bearing in place.

Questions on lower gearcase: 1) should I try and remove front coil/bearing to ensure there isn't any grit in the nose of the bullet. It seems ok from what I can tell, but then one never knows unless it is out, right? If I should get them out, how do I do it without special tools? Do I heat the front of the gearcase and see if the parts 'drop' out or do I need to improvise a puller of some sort?

2) the springs on clutch hubs seem a bit gritty, should I disassemble clutch hubs to clean or simply clean with solvent/brake cleaner while the are assembled (eg spring not removed, bearing and bushings not out of clutch hubs). If I should disassemble, any pointers/gotchas from the pros?

3) i pulled out the propeller shaft seal from gearcase head, but left bearing in place and cleaned bearing while bearing was still in the head. Any reason I should remove/replace bearing if it looks ok?

Thanks.

 

[Daviet]

Re: RKL-25D 40HP Johnson Electric shift - leaky lower unit

1. If the coil checks good, I would not remove it, just flush out the housing really well.
2. Just clean them up.
3. No need to remove it as long as it's clean and in good shape.

 

[vandenburgh]

Re: RKL-25D 40HP Johnson Electric shift - leaky lower unit

Thanks for the reply - good to know I am not on my own on this one!

I was able to get the bullet pretty darn clean with repeated flushing of mineral spirits. I did notice that there is about 1/4 inch play between the front bearing and the front coil (coil is stationary, but bearing can be shifted fore and aft a bit). Is this normal?

Next task is to clean upper gearcase and replace seal. Should I pull the bearing just below the seal and the upper pinion or leave in place to clean? It seems from service manual, upper bearing should be replaced if removed - thoughts? Should I head housing to remove bearings if they should come out?

Thanks again!

 

[vandenburgh]

Re: RKL-25D 40HP Johnson Electric shift - leaky lower unit

I am deep into my first overhaul of electric shift lower end and have all of the bearings and other bits out of the upper and lower gearcase. As I get ready to reassemble, I am a bit confused on sealant to use, if any, between the upper gearcase and extension and the extension and exhaust housing. I read some past posts by Joe Reeves and understand sealant 1000 is interchangeable with 3M 847 and is used between upper/lower gearcase and a few other spots like under the impeller plate, and it looks like I need Perfect seal #4/BRP gasket compound for the bolts.

I didn't see anything mentioned between upper gearcase and extension and exhaust housing - can anyone give a first timer some guidance on this? Is sealant used between those pieces and if so where and what kind?

 

[1946Zephyr]

Re: RKL-25D 40HP Johnson Electric shift - leaky lower unit

Once you get it running right, sell it. Those electric shift models have very spendy parts. If you ever have to replace something in it, there are at least a couple parts in there, that cost more than the motor is worth. Your best bet is to have a manual shift, in the old 40hps.

 

[vandenburgh]

Re: RKL-25D 40HP Johnson Electric shift - leaky lower unit

With regards to parts, I have an identical motor to harvest parts from, so hopefully between the two I can keep her running until I move onto something else. That said, I first need to get it running and hopefully someone will post with some advice regarding the sealant to use.

 

[Daviet]

Re: RKL-25D 40HP Johnson Electric shift - leaky lower unit

You don't need any sealant between the lower unit and the exhaust housing.

 

[yorab]

Re: RKL-25D 40HP Johnson Electric shift - leaky lower unit

No sealer is necessary because that area fills with lake water anyway. When I rebuilt my motor, I did use sealer and gasket. The only reason that I did was because I didn't want the unburned fuel/oil mix leaking from that area after pulling out of the water. In other words, it was purely for reasons of aesthetics. I have the 75hp model (same year), but I believe that what I am saying applies to your motor as well.

You can try to get a hold of some basic inspection tools for your torpedo/bullet. My buddy inspects scuba tanks and he has a mirror and a bright light that he uses to look for defects in the air tanks. I had him inspect the front bearing race in my torpedo for signs of overheating, mechanical wear, etc.

 

[1946Zephyr]

Re: RKL-25D 40HP Johnson Electric shift - leaky lower unit

Good, my point has been made. Get it running right and sell the darned thing. Get the same motor with a manual shift on it. Trust me, in the long run, you'll have much less headache and parts will be so much cheaper.

 

[vandenburgh]

Re: RKL-25D 40HP Johnson Electric shift - leaky lower unit

I appreciate the perspective on what to do longer term, but got to get it running first and as I have a parts motor on hand, I suspect I can get through this season once lower resealed.

I was thinking my next motor would be something a bit 'cleaner' running (25-40HP range) and seems OMC motor circa late 70's early 80's are pretty hardy? While I like the stuff from the 60's, not so keen on the 'slick' they leave behind.