grease from behind prop

i have a 15 horse johnson. i don't know the yaer but the mod num is J15ECSD. I recently discovered some grease leaking from behind the prop, I know water is in the grease because it is milky. Could somebody please give me some advice on how to fix this<br /><br />P.S. this forum is great, i have made numerous repairs from searching it

Re: grease from behind prop

panhandle,<br />I'm currently dealing with a similar problem in a 6 horse. Everything down there is leaking and I have a crack in the side of the skeg to boot. Sounds to me like a lower unit seal kit is what you need. You should be able to get one from a Napa parts store. That's the closest place to me that had one. If I remember right their Marine parts book had them listed as "gear case seal kits". The napa guys don't use their marine book very much so I found that the more info you can give them the better. If you haven't taken your lower unit apart before a manual is really handy. <br />By the way I think your motor is an 80 from what I've learned here.<br />Dave

Re: grease from behind prop

I was just looking for something else and came across this seal kit for your motor.<br /> http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=50439&item=2463511915

Re: grease from behind prop

it is indeed a 1980

Re: grease from behind prop

is this a difficult job or do i just pull the prop off and there it is<br /><br />thanks so much for the great information

Re: grease from behind prop

A little more than that but not much. My manual for the 6 horse lists only 9 steps to take it apart and some of that deals with the water pump. Which you might as well service too since you already have to take it apart. You have to take the lower unit off. Which on mine meant removing 4 bolts and a screw. Then you do a couple of other things after which you remove the skeg bolts and pop that off. And there you are. All the seals you need to take care of are right there. Of course you have to clean everything up, get rid of the old seals and the gunk left over but none of it is particularily hard.

Re: grease from behind prop

thanks so much for the help. i owe ya

Re: grease from behind prop

i have one more question. can i just replace the seal behind the prop and and if so what does this consist of<br /><br />Thanks for your reply in advance

Re: grease from behind prop

If you don't want to reseal the entire lower unit, it's best to first find out where your leak is for sure. You can do that by pressurizing it a bit (no more than 10psi) while it's submerged in water, and see where the bubbles come out. A good way to do this is with a bicycle pump and an old tire valve stem cut to plug up one of the fill screw holes.<br />I'm concerned your leak isn't where you think it is. When you put a propeller on, it's good practice to grease the shaft to prevent corrosion and the prop sticking to it. I'm wondering if that is the grease you see.<br />If it's black and oily and gasoline smelling, you may also be looking at unburnt 2-cycle oil which drips through the exhaust, and is very often confused for an oil leak.<br />The most common reason for lower unit leaks is old or reused lower unit fill and vent screw gaskets.<br /><br />Manuals can be ordered from here at Iboats, or you can borrow one from your local library.<br /><br />Some Good Reading for your 15hp <br /><br />I hope this gets you pointed in the right direction!

Re: grease from behind prop

i feel confidant that the fluid leeking is indeed foot grease. it is milky and has just started doing this the other day.<br /><br />thanks for any advice

Re: grease from behind prop

ps i just got done reading through the information you gave me thanks very much<br /><br />this forum is great

Re: grease from behind prop

Iceman....just to confirm...you did drain the lower unit and check the gearlube?