Have just replaced top oil seal on my '77 25 in the continuing saga of trying to get this motor to stop bogging past 1/2 throttle. Bought this motor 12 years ago and just got around to putting it in the water. After much work and swearing the motor starts, idles and accelerate great in the barrel. Have rebuilt carb, replaced solinoid (original tested bad), new plugs, new coils (one was cracked and shorting out), synced, replaced prop (rubber bushing was bad), and now replaced a leaking top seal. When I removed the flywheel the top seal had worked it's way out of the crankcase to the point that I pulled it out with my fingers. Now my questions to the pros: Could the uninstalled oil seal have been responsible for the motor bogging down under load by not creating enough vacuum to pull gas into the top cylinder? As I said, It idles and accelartes, both in and out of gear, fine in a barrell. And 2: What is the proper torque for the flywheel nut on a 1997 25hp Johnson? I've ordered a manual but it has not arrived.
