1991 40 HP Johnson locked up

J

jacob.twisdale

Cadet
Joined
Apr 5, 2012
Messages
9
I have a 40 HP Johnson Outboard (J40RLEIA). It locked up this weekend. The motor ran fine while in neutral, but when I put it into gear, it made a sort of squeaky sound. I put it back into neutral and the noise stopped. I put it into forward again and it started making the noise. I decided to go back to the boat ramp and get the boat out of the water. I got about 100 yards and the motor locked up. It wont turn over and it seems to be stuck in gear. Does this seem like a lower unit issue? Any tips on how to go about finding out the root cause?
 
R

Rick.

Captain
Joined
Jul 30, 2006
Messages
3,740
Re: 1991 40 HP Johnson locked up

Probably the best first step is to remove the lower unit. Then see if the motor turns freely. If it does the problem will be in the gear case. Best of luck. Rick.
 
J

jacob.twisdale

Cadet
Joined
Apr 5, 2012
Messages
9
Re: 1991 40 HP Johnson locked up

Rick. said:
Probably the best first step is to remove the lower unit. Then see if the motor turns freely. If it does the problem will be in the gear case. Best of luck. Rick.
Click to expand...


How much of a pain in the butt is it to replace the gears in the gear case?
 
AEROCOOK

AEROCOOK

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 28, 2004
Messages
872
Re: 1991 40 HP Johnson locked up

The gears and other required parts aren't cheap, it will likely cost more to rebuild your lower unit than it would be to find a decent used one. I found a really nice one for my buddy's 40 hp last summer, paid $250 for the whole motor with a bad power head. I swear the motor must have seized on it's maiden voyage, it was cosmetically perfect, there wasnt a scratch on it. That's my 2 cents worth.
 
J

jacob.twisdale

Cadet
Joined
Apr 5, 2012
Messages
9
Re: 1991 40 HP Johnson locked up

AEROCOOK said:
The gears and other required parts aren't cheap, it will likely cost more to rebuild your lower unit than it would be to find a decent used one. I found a really nice one for my buddy's 40 hp last summer, paid $250 for the whole motor with a bad power head. I swear the motor must have seized on it's maiden voyage, it was cosmetically perfect, there wasnt a scratch on it. That's my 2 cents worth.
Click to expand...

I found a lower unit gear set for my motor online brand new for 225 bucks. Should I just get those and replace em or is there more to it than that?
 
T

tx1961whaler

Vice Admiral
Joined
May 31, 2008
Messages
5,197
Re: 1991 40 HP Johnson locked up

You don't know what's wrong with the lower unit until you take it apart.
 
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