bassboy416
Petty Officer 3rd Class
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2013
- Messages
- 79
I recently purchased a 1975 Tahiti with a 1976 Chrysler 120 Outboard Model 1209HD. It started and ran great but I only saw it run on a hose attachment. Once I bought it, the first thing I did was run it in a bucket of water to see if the impeller was in good shape. I removed the lower unit and checked the impeller and housing. All was looking good, and in a bucket of water, it did have water coming out of the tell tale pee hole thing; However, when I took it apart (and not before I took it apart) I noticed Milky Gear Oil coming out from the prop shaft area from what I believe to be the prop shaft housing (right behind the prop itself). I have read extensively about this, and I realize there is a very high likelihood this is in need of a lower end seal job. I drained the oil from the LU and it was not white but definitely had a milky color to it indicating water in the oil. It should be mentioned as well that the drain and vent screws were barely even hand tight and SUPER easy to loosen with a regular flathead and barely any pressure. I bought new washers for the screws and oil and was going to take it out once and then have seals redone, but the mechanics in this area said parts are unavailable and they will not work on the engine because it is obsolete. I have found seals for the lower unit, but I have never done this work before. Also, I tried taking out the two allen wrench screws holding what I believe to be the prop shaft cover in place and it would not budge. Couple of questions. Can I run it if I change the oil every outing? Can I find someone to fix it? Can I do it myself if I buy the manual and a slide hammer? If so, what gaskets get replaced? Your help is incredibly appreciated. I feel like I just bought a 19 foot lawn ornament. I'm going to try and paste the schematic of my engine I've found online for you to analyze. Thanks!!!!!