50 HP Johnson Oil Leak question

[11B40]

New old guy with the back ground before the question. My good friend lost his Whaler to the storm Sandy. Recently we went to an estate sale and he bought a boat motor and trailer for a good price. The motor is a 1999 J50PLEEA and I'm going to be the wrench on this. I have worked on outboards in the past but for the last 20 years my boat is powered by an air cooled mud motor. So today it hit 38* and I fired it up. The telltale was peeing nice and the engine sounded good. Understand the prior owner passed so I said water pump, T-stat and gear grease gets done. So an hour after starting (it ran about 20 mins) I noticed under the lower unit a puddle of brown oil and it was running down from the area of where the prop attaches to the output shaft.
So what might it be? Is there something I should check before I drop the lower unit? Any and all help would be appreciated.
Thanks Much,
Wayne

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[nwcove]

Re: 50 HP Johnson Oil Leak question

probably not an issue...just unburnt 2stroke oil. but do check the gear oil for signs of water intrusion! make sure to replace the nylon gaskets/o-rings on the fill and drain screws!

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 50 HP Johnson Oil Leak question

Wayne, it is best to get a service manual, as there are some tricks to replacing the impeller.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 50 HP Johnson Oil Leak question

The shift rod must be disconnected first. The motor should have a clevis pin near the bottom of the block. That needs to get pulled and the linkage slid to the right.....

 

[11B40]

Re: 50 HP Johnson Oil Leak question

The shift rod must be disconnected first. The motor should have a clevis pin near the bottom of the block. That needs to get pulled and the linkage slid to the right.....

Thank you folks, Yes the first thing that was bought was a service manual. Frankly I think that $45 book is extremely lacking having used a great deal of both OEM and manuals like Haynes. Tomorrow I'll drop the oil and hopefully it isn't the same color as what dripped in my driveway.
How does this sound as a next step, pull the prop and run it again to see if the output seal is leaking?

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