Tohatsu Guru any idea what this is?

[WN2712NJ]

This is the continuing saga of my almost new Tohatsu 20. I'm still waiting to get this in for warranty service, but last weekend while the boat was sitting on it's trailer I noticed this slow dribble coming from the lower unit. Note that it is coming out of what appears to be a small hole on the opposite side of the lower unit from the lower drain plug for the 90wt gear oil. I can't find any mention of this little hole in the owners manual, but the substance coming out of it looks suspiciously like my missing engine oil - which I am still losing at the rate of about 100ml per hour of operation (so much for the environmental advantage over 2strokes).

Still about a week away from being able to get the motor in for warranty service (it's salmon season).

Thanks,

-dm

 

[deejaycee_2000]

Re: Tohatsu Guru any idea what this is?

ooo that is not good, you should not lose gear oil at all anyway, so losing 100ml an hour already tell you there is a big problem, I would take it back right away ....

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: Tohatsu Guru any idea what this is?

That''s a exhaust/lower unit cavity drain hole. The motor leg fills with water and that helps to reduce engine noise. That's just the lowest drain point. Oil coming out of it is just another indication of a leak. Probably the lower main seal or a base gasket. I woulld imagine that someone got careless during assembly and knicked one or the other when they put it in. It's a simple enough fix...Lift off the powerhead and pop a new one in.

 

[WN2712NJ]

Re: Tohatsu Guru any idea what this is?

Just to update, the motor is now at a dealer. It will be interesting to see exactly how long it is before I get it back. Fortunately, I was able to get the old Merc we had on the boat before down out of the garage attic and mounted on the boat, and after some tinkering it started up so at least our season isn't ruined.

-dm

 

[WN2712NJ]

Re: Tohatsu Guru any idea what this is?

Another update:

Talked to the guy working on the motor on Friday, and he said that Tohatsu had told him not to even bother diagnosing the problem. They are just shipping him a whole new powerhead. Good news is that I got 30 or so free hours on the old powerhead, bad news is that I need to go thru the break-in period again.

-dm

 

[TOHATSU GURU]

Re: Tohatsu Guru any idea what this is?

That's usually due to a dealer saying "Duh, I don see nuttin rong" The funny thing is that I doubt that there was really anything wrong with the power head. Regardless, when they put the new one on with the new base gasket you will be golden.

 

[WN2712NJ]

Re: Tohatsu Guru any idea what this is?

Just wanted to close this thread - got my motor back on Saturday from Roy's Marine Service in Kingston, Wa. It had actually been done for a week and a half but I had been on vacation and unable to pick it up.

Tohatsu replaced the entire powerhead under warranty. So I'm back to a zero-time engine

My thanks to Tohatsu Guru, Keith at Tohatsu, and Roy for getting us back up and running.