1961 Johnson 40 outboard

[1930 AA]

Help
There is a small hole on the right side of my lower unit located between the top oil fill plug and the low fill plug.
After running the engine and shutting it off a milky oily watery drainage could be seen coming from that hole.
Doesn't seem right. Any thoughts?
Thanks

 

[kfa4303]

Re: 1961 Johnson 40 outboard

Hi 1930 AA. Welcome to iboats. Don't worry, that hole is normal and is doing its job a s a drain. The milky ooze is just residual exhaust mixed with water. Here are some handy links for you motor.

Reviving a Vintage Big Twin - Part 1

1961 Johnson RD-23 40 hp Outboard Motor Parts

 

[cr2k]

Re: 1961 Johnson 40 outboard

If it is milky it could also be a bad seal on either your shift shaft or vertical drive shaft (under your water pump).
This hole is there to drain the water from your exhaust cavity.

 

[1930 AA]

Re: 1961 Johnson 40 outboard

Appreciate the information.
I'll drain the gear case and check the oil status. If the seal is leaking maybe I can get by with topping off the oil prior to using it each time. Thoughts?

 

[kfa4303]

Re: 1961 Johnson 40 outboard

Hello again 1930 AA. If you open the DRAIN/VENT screw and the gear oil comes out milky, then you know you have water intrusion into the gear case. Thankfully, you can reseal it fairly easily. A reseal kit is only about $25. There are several how-to threads here in the forums that can walk you ythrough the the job. That being said, it's a 50+ year old motor and sometimes they just never seal up as tight as they used to in which case you may need to check/top off the oil every few trips.

 

[1930 AA]

Re: 1961 Johnson 40 outboard

Thanks
I've already begun reading various threads trying to get a handle on what needs to happen next.
From what I can surmise it sounds like I need to approach this like I was replacing the water pump and replace the seals while replacing the pump assembly.
Does that seem logical

 

[lindy46]

Re: 1961 Johnson 40 outboard

Both jobs require that you drop the lower unit, so, yes if it needs seals, the time to do it is when you change the impeller.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: 1961 Johnson 40 outboard

Here's a how-to link on replacing the seals.

http://forums.iboats.com/johnson-evinrude-outboards/fastwin-lower-unit-seal-faq-277190.html