1975 johnson 70hp cowl rubber gasket

Hello all, I just have a quick question. I bought a new rubber gasket for the cowling on my 1975 70hp johnson and when I installed it on the cowling and snapped the cowling onto the motor I noticed that the cowling seems to be a little to wide in the middle on each side. The sides of the cowling are out to far and the new rubber gasket isnt really sealing anything. It's like the sides of the cowling need to be pushed in on each side so they will rest on the metal motor sides. Is this normal do i need to buy a different cowling ???? Any help is appreciated.....

Re: 1975 johnson 70hp cowl rubber gasket

Bump......

Re: 1975 johnson 70hp cowl rubber gasket

Only times I've ever noticed this issue was on motors that had spent time off a boat, stored on their sides. Depending on how rough they're handled, it is possible to collapse the belly pan a bit. The pan is cast aluminum. It doesn't like to bend, but it will. Too much and it will crack. The cowling itself is fiberglass and isn't likely to warp much... Frankly, unless you have significant wasp issues, you're not likely to get much of anything in there that would be a problem.

Re: 1975 johnson 70hp cowl rubber gasket

I bought the boat motor from a guy who took it off a pontoon boat. He told me it was sitting around for about a year but it was laying on it's side. So you think the belly pan may be collapsed some? I just want the new gasket to seal good all around....

Re: 1975 johnson 70hp cowl rubber gasket

I was worried about water getting in there mostly...

Re: 1975 johnson 70hp cowl rubber gasket

Yes, that would be my guess. Might be able to GENTLY bend the pan outwards a bit with brute force. I know, a bit of a contradiction, but it's the only way you'd fix the issue.

Unless you've got a heavy stern end that takes on water when coming off plane, I really don't think water would be a big issue. Any misc. spray would drain out the bottom of the cowling anyway, if it even made it into the pan. Water likes to follow gravity, and getting into the cowling area would require it to be propelled in some manner... Like I mentioned above, the only real problem you might have is the gap would allow insects free access. Wasps have been known to make nests in outboard cowlings.