1981 johnson water circulation

i have a 1981 johnson 15 horse model J15RCIS i just retired my 1980 everything seems to work with water circulation the pee hole is putting water out strong but nothing out the hole in rear of motor my 1980 has 2 holes on the section between lower unit and power head and water comes out of them when it warms up but as i stated this moter only has on hole and all i feel is warm air comming out and no water maybe this is how it works i have looked at seloc online but it mentions nothing . should there be water comming out the hole or not ?/ please help also how do i know if thermostat is opening or not will water come out this port when it opens ?i purchased the online seloc manual for 36 dollars and cant find anything on that single port guess i wasted the money

Re: 1981 johnson water circulation

is this a water hole in the rear or an exhaust port

Re: 1981 johnson water circulation

can anyone help

Re: 1981 johnson water circulation

This is an exhaust relief hole. At low speeds or idle on the water it's normal to get a little spitting out of there. You won't get much if anything in the driveway on the muffs, and maybe not even in a barrel.

Re: 1981 johnson water circulation

thank you is there areason why the water poured outr of the two holes on my 1980 model it seemed that when the motor warmed up then the water poured out those holes . and how can i determin if the thermostat is opening or not ? dont want to ask all the questions but the seloc online does not tell me anything waste of money

Re: 1981 johnson water circulation

Simply put, water shouldn't have poured out of those holes unless the t-stat was stuck open. Once the water exits the mid-section while up on plane the water and exhaust comes out the prop.

Re: 1981 johnson water circulation

thanks i should have paid you the 36 dollars i get more for my money . one last question how do i determine if my thermo is opening or not ?

Re: 1981 johnson water circulation

Easiest way is the touch test. Warm the motor up for a good 10 minutes or so and hold your hand on the powerhead.

If you can count 1 - 2- 3 - ouch!

You're sitting pretty.


The better way is to use an infra-red thermometer. But probably not necessary.