Johnson RD-14 1953 Model - Oil leak??

[mstone1968]

Hello Everyone,<br />I finally got my Johnson RD-14 motor running. It now starts and seems to run great, HOWEVER, I noticed when I pulled it out of the lake yesterday, there is white stuff all over the back of the boat and motor. I'm assuming that is is oil/water mixture. It looks kind of like lard. You can see a white foaming liquid coming out of the shaft in the front. It is a slow bubbling leakage. When it is sitting in the water you can see oil on top of the water. I'm not sure where the oil is leaking from. I'm not sure if this can easily be fixed? I took the engine to several marine shops around here but no one will work on it because it is too old?? I can still find parts on the internet for it but can't find any one to work on it. Any suggestions on what I could try. Thanks so much for your help.

 

[Laddies]

Re: Johnson RD-14 1953 Model - Oil leak??

That could be winterizion oil, ck the lower unit for water and if there is none run it some more but ck the lower unit beween runs the first few times--Bob

 

[mstone1968]

Re: Johnson RD-14 1953 Model - Oil leak??

Hi Bob,<br />Thank you so much for the information. This is the first boat I've actually owned so I don't know a whole lot about them yet. I ordered a manual for this motor but not received it yet. Would you mind to tell me how to check lower unit oil. There is a screw in the lower shaft but it says water flush. Is that it? When I bought the boat the man told me to use a 50:1 oil/gas mix but I later found out on the forum that this actuallyu is supposed to use a 24:1 mix. This last time I did use the 24:1 mix, could too much oil in the gas also cause this?? Again, I am very new to outboard motors, forgive me if I ask dumb questions.....Thanks again,<br />Mike

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Johnson RD-14 1953 Model - Oil leak??

A 1953 two-stroke isn't the cleanest running engine in the world. That said, if it really is excessive then it could be a problem. Start by draining a little lower unit oil to make sure it's not water in there. Remove the slotted screw on just forward of the skedge (fin) - not the phillips screw on the side of the fin.<br />Also, misfiring or running rich can cause excessive oil. By 'reading' your spark plugs, you can determine if this is happening. This invovles looking at the firing end of the plugs and noting insulator colour (normally the white part) and carbon build up. You would expect a poor performance if you were running rich though.<br />Idling a lot will put a lot of oil in the water, since the engine is least efficient at low speeds. I don't think your mix is the problem.

 

[mstone1968]

Re: Johnson RD-14 1953 Model - Oil leak??

Hello Paul,<br />Thanks for the great advice. I will check that as soon as I get home tonight. The boat seems to be running smooth and it starts right up now. A friend of mine came over and kept adjusting the High and Low speed Idle knobs. The high speed is on 2 and the low speed is on 7.5. I used the 24:1 mixture this last time. I've only actually got to run it on the lake 2 times so far. I put brand new spark plugs in it before going out the first time. They seem to still look good. The leakage does however seem kind of excessive to me. It looks like someone has taken a spatula of lard and thrown it against the back of the boat and on the back part of the fin. I guess the hot oil mixing with the lake water is what made the white lard looking mixture. I will definitely check the lower unit to make sure there is no water in there. I really really appreciate all of you guys help. Thanks so much,<br />Mike

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Johnson RD-14 1953 Model - Oil leak??

Yeah, that sound excessive.<br />Probably the high speed control is out of adjustment. Did it suck up the gas in record time? The actual positions of the knobs are totally arbitrary - for serious adjustments you take them right off. Follow Joe Reeves instructions on how to set them:<br />Carb controls setup, click here.<br /><br />Another question I overlooked last time - what kind of oil are you mixing?

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: Johnson RD-14 1953 Model - Oil leak??

Mike,<br /> Pay no attention to the numbers on the carb dials. They only mean something AFTER the carburetor is set correctly. And even then, they can only really indicate when well-meaning fingers have "adjusted" things for you, .ie "what does this knob do?" syndrome... Joe Reeves' instructions should nail it down for you.<br /> There will likely always be some fuel residue on the water when you run that motor - nature of the beast. However, you can do your best to minimize the loss by keeping the motor in top tune...<br />- Scott

 

[mstone1968]

Re: Johnson RD-14 1953 Model - Oil leak??

Hello Paul & Scott,<br />Thanks for the information on the Correct way to adjust the High & Low Speed adjustment valves. Paul, Yes it did seem to run through the gas rather quickly. I used between a 1/4-1/2 a tank of gas running probably 5 or 6 miles total on the lake. The gas tank is a 6 gallon tank. Does that sound like too much. To me it did seem to go through the gas awful fast. Not sure if that is about normal or not?? I will check on the type of oil I am using. I bought it at walmart and it said it was marine oil- I'm thinking the name was Marine Tech or something of that nature, what brand of oil do you recommend to get the best performance on such an old engine. To be as old as it is, it actually runs pretty fast down the lake-haha...I think once I can get all the problems worked out on it, hopefully it will last me for a while. Thanks again for everyone's help. I am learning a lot from this forum. I really appreciate the help.,<br />Mike

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Johnson RD-14 1953 Model - Oil leak??

Well, it's sort of hard to tell if that's normal consumption or not. It certainly sounds high, but if you idled around for a few hours then it might be perfectly normal. Like Chinewalker said, just make sure the engine is adjusted right and in good tune.<br /><br />I wasn't really concerned with what brand of oil you were using, just so long as it's TC-W3 rated. A lot of the older outboards have mix instructions for SAE 30 weight engine oil written on them since outboard oil frequently wasn't available. The Walmart stuff is just fine.