help! i need to get on the water!!

hey all, new to group.

i just got my first boat the other day, traded my motorcycle for the boat and some cash.

its a 1972 ohio home made boat, 16' long, in very decent shape.

the engine is a 1972 johnson 48 spl.

it fires right up, and seems to have no troubles running in forward or reverse.

my issue is, after having it run a few minutes and shutting it off, i went inside for a a couple hours, came back out, and noticed a thick black oil/gas smelling drip, about 5" around. it wasnt "running" down the driveway, and my drive is on a decent angle, so it was real thick. it seems to be leaking out from the prop area.

my tilt does not work. i can hear the motor running when i flip the switch in either direction, but the engine doesnt lift at all. the guy i got it from told me ill need to add hydrolic tilt oil. i bought some today, but cant for the life of me figure out where im supposed to add it.

could this be the oil that was leaking out from the prop? does it sound like something horrible and i just got screwed out of a fine vt1100? and where do i add this new oil. please help!!

Re: help! i need to get on the water!!

You add the oil via the large slotted screw in the front of the resevoir. Fill it up, cycle it 5 to 6 times, bleeding the air, back to the UP position, fill again, cycle 5 to 6 times, etc....

Keep doing this until you can no longer add fluid.

Have a read in the Faqs for a thread entitled "Outboard leaking Oil Around Gearcase" by IWombat and let us know what you think.

Re: help! i need to get on the water!!

This is it here....

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=207285

Re: help! i need to get on the water!!

Welcome to iboats Fondots,

Not to insult you, but , in your post, you didn't mention any water cooling....you did have it, didn't you?

Re: help! i need to get on the water!!

Thanx chris, I think its the first reason stated. Its black n sooty. Previous owner said he had been "running it rich", adding more oil to the gas than normal so it makes sense. ...this screw your refering to, I assume it will be towards the top of the motor near the back? N does it make sense that its prolly really low so the tilt wont work, or could it be a different issue?

Re: help! i need to get on the water!!

tilt your motor up and you will see the PTT motor (wires) the tilt mechanism (shock absorber) and the reservoir--that's where the dime-sized fill screw is. Use automatic transmission fluid.

There may also be a coiled aluminum tube under there; mine corroded once and leaked. The connection bolts for that tube can leak, too.

You are running on muffs?

Didn't know they made the 48 special in 1972

Re: help! i need to get on the water!!

Hope the thick black stuff wasn't melted impeller lol. You must run motor with water muffs even just to see if it will crank. Sounds like you going to get very familiar w your new boat in a hurry, mechanicly speaking.
Not to worry most everything can be fixed and I boats is a great resource for help

Re: help! i need to get on the water!!

Ok. I cant lift the engine at all to put in any fluid. I can rock it a little bit, but thats it. Any idea why I cant lift it manually? Yes, ive unlocked the lever thingy n still cant

Re: help! i need to get on the water!!

got it figured out!!!. i couldnt directly access the fill hole being the engine wouldnt budge. i found a rubber tube in my garage, heated it and bent it to be able to fit into the fill hole. sqeezed oil thru the tube til it leaked out. went n tried the switch and it worked a little. repeated this a few times while lifting and lowering after every time i got more oil in it. now it works perfect!!

thanx for everyones help.

i think the hydrolic oil is actually leaking out of the shaft that raises and lowers the engine, but it isnt enough that ill be screwed in the water so imma fill it every time i come back in til i can get it looked at.

Re: help! i need to get on the water!!

Home Cookin' said:

... Use automatic transmission fluid.....

Click to expand...

I believe Dexron is the only type that is compatible (that's what I've been using for several years now). A while back I read an explanation that said Dexron is the only type that won't eventually swell up seals etc.

Re: help! i need to get on the water!!

ATF Dexron III

Re: help! i need to get on the water!!

fondots said:

Ok. I cant lift the engine at all to put in any fluid. I can rock it a little bit, but thats it. Any idea why I cant lift it manually? Yes, ive unlocked the lever thingy n still cant

Click to expand...

There is typically a release screw on the side of the PTT unit--often you access through a hole inthe frame--when you loosen it, you can raise the motor by hand without working against the pressure of the PTT.

consider that you do not want hydraulic oil leaking in the water. Not for your boat, but for my fishing.