Oil coming out of the "water out ports".

[WilWait]

[h=2]I have just acquired a second hand Johnson 9.9 and have a similar problem to the one OptsyEagle described at legnth in 2014.[/h] https://forums.iboats.com/forum/eng...boards/655499-9-9-johnson-may-have-overheated

Sadly for me the thread seems to have gotten off track and was closed before the real cause of the leak was identified. No correct fix was suggested or tried. Did the thread continue on another topic or has this issue been resolved elsewhere? If so, would you be kind enough to share the link? Thanks.


I did my spring maintenance and changed the oil in the lower unit. I filled it in the upright position and did not overfill.

I took the 9.9 on it's maiden run last week and after a few burps, she ran smoothly under full throttle. No issues were noticed till the next day when I saw oil leaking from the water out ports.

I cleaned it up. I took pictures every 24 hours and the leakage seems to diminish, although not anywhere near what I would consider normal.

1) What is the source of this leakage please? (Maybe OptsyEagle can fill me in...)

2) How do I resolve this issue?

3) OptsyEagle are you still running the same outboard? How is that working for you?


I am a new member and new to Johnson outboards, so thank you for your patience with me.

Will

 

[oldboat1]

Scoop some up on your finger, and see what it smells like. Smell of sulphur is gear oil. More likely, fuel smell (unburned fuel and other nastiness in the leg -- will clean itself out with use). If sulphur smell, will need to test for gearcase leak.

 

[Chinewalker]

1 - unburned fuel/oil mix draining from within the exhaust housing.

2 - you don't. It is completely normal for a two stroke to leave this residue. Can be more or less depending on how the motor is operated. A long idling period prior to shut down can lead to more residue building up.

 

[WilWait]

This motor sat for probably 5 or 6 years and I have no idea how it was run before. There was no trace of leakage when I first put it on the boat.

Before taking out for it's "first" run, I idlled for 5 minutes or so before leaving cause it chocked when I first put in forward. Once out, I ran it full throttle for 20 minutes and shut it off right after I purred back in to the marina. So the cleaning out process would seem logical.

Thanks.

 

[Chris1956]

Smell the oil. I will bet it is gear oil....

 

[WilWait]

Smell the oil. I will bet it is gear oil....

Thanks Chris. I'll admit it looks thick enough to be gear oil, but how could gear oil leak out of "water out ports"?

I'm confused. I am a sailor that ran a Merc for years. I don't know much about Johnsons,

 

[Chinewalker]

If you check your gear oil and its that dark, then maybe, but I'm 99% sure it's not gear oil.

 

[Chris1956]

Gear oil out the water ports is easy....if the shift rod seal is shot, gear oil will leak into the exhaust passage.....Also check the driveshaft seal. It could leak gear oil under the waterpump, and into the exhaust passage.

 

[WilWait]

I have no idea when the gear oil was changed by the previous owner, but when I flushed it last week, it was black. I poured a few ounces of fresh oil to clean out the old stuff before re-filling it. I have not been back to the marina since so I can't confirm the sulfur smell.

 

[Chinewalker]

Gear oil out the water ports is easy....if the shift rod seal is shot, gear oil will leak into the exhaust passage.....Also check the driveshaft seal. It could leak gear oil under the waterpump, and into the exhaust passage.

Lower looks like a 9.9/15 so the gear oil would have to flow up, over the water pump housing and back down to those ports. The shift rod is forward of the pump on those.

 

[racerone]

Pressure test the gearcase.------That eliminates the wild guess work !

 

[WilWait]

I have no way to pressure test the gear case, but the oil does not smell like sulfur.




Another detail I should mention is that we have had an intense heat spell here for over two weeks -- with temperatures soaring to over 100 degrees.

Today I have some fresh pictures, taken just before going for a good run on Saturday. BTW, the previous leaks had been cleaned 48 hours before these pics were taken.



Up until today, no leakage came out of the joint (see pic below)... and non came out after the last good run either.







So,
1) could the extreme heat have caused a "cleaning out" of the accumulated gunk the exhaust has left behind?

and if not,
2) Is it possible for oil to suddenly leak out of a joint above the Gear Oil fill plug when the motor has not run for 12 days? and 5 or 6 years before that?


Then, off I went and gave my 9.9 a good twenty minute run at full throttle. This is what it looked like when I brought the boat back to the marina.



With no further leaks on the joint, this looks normal to my newbie eyes. (Should there be any trace of oil from the exhaust coming out of these port holes under normal wear with no idling?)



Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting to the bottom of this. Thanks for your input.

Will

 

[hardwater fisherman]

To me it looks like unburned fuel. Have you checked the gearcase oil? Is it low or milky?

 

[WilWait]

My apologies to OptsyEagle.

I just reread the post
https://forums.iboats.com/forum/eng...boards/655499-9-9-johnson-may-have-overheated

And it was wrmdunkers that had the issue and OptsyEagle was offering some advice. My mistake. You must admit that both leakages are very similar though.


wrmdunkers is here




WrmDunkers : I was wondering if you would be kind enough to share what was the cause of your leakage and if it wasn’t the unburned fuel/oil mix draining, how did you resolve the problem please.

Thanks.

 

[WilWait]

To me it looks like unburned fuel. Have you checked the gearcase oil? Is it low or milky?

Good suggestion. Thanks.

 

[wrmdunker]

WW I’m no expert but I think it unburned fuel mix from the exhaust leg. My sons motor actually a 1977. Look up how to decarb a motor in the J/E Forums. Think it may be a Sticky

 

[racerone]

Drain gear oil.----Hurry to a shop and have it pressure tested.

 

[WilWait]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll go check the link to o decarb a motor. Is that what your son did wrmdunker?

I took out the top plug and nice clear Gear Oil came dribbling down. I guess I overfilled it a couple of weeks back. No harm done, right?
The motor ran very well last time I had her out. Not a burp running at full throttle for 20 minutes.

These 9.9 seem to be good sturdy work horses.