Upper oil drain bolt location on 1972 65hp johnson hydro.

[kit352]

Im trying to change my lower unit oil on my new to me johnson and for the life of me I cant find the upper drain bolt. I have the lower one or what i assume to the lower one just above the first foil above the prop. Ive got the whole unit uncovered now and i still cant find the upper one. The lower one just trickles out the oil so i know im missing something. Can anyone give me a hand. A pic or microfiche would be great.

 

[halfmoa]

Re: Upper oil drain bolt location on 1972 65hp johnson hydro.

The upper should be very easily visable from the starboard side. The lower drain screw is on the under side of the "bubble" that houses the propshaft and is difficult to see unless you're at ground level.

If you're not aware this engine requires "Type C" lower unit lube and don't forget new seals on the drain screws. Regular 80-90wt gear lube will not work unless you don't want neutral or reverse!

 

[F_R]

Re: Upper oil drain bolt location on 1972 65hp johnson hydro.

I have the lower one or what i assume to the lower one just above the first foil above the prop. .

You are looking at the upper one. The lower one is down where the vertical skeg meets the gearcase "bullet". Hunker down and take another look.

 

[halfmoa]

Re: Upper oil drain bolt location on 1972 65hp johnson hydro.

You are looking at the upper one. The lower one is down where the vertical skeg meets the gearcase "bullet". Hunker down and take another look.

Bullet....I'm sure that's what I meant...

 

[kit352]

Re: Upper oil drain bolt location on 1972 65hp johnson hydro.

Found it guys. The po sealed it up with jb weld, thats why i couldnt see it. Took a chance and chipped it off to reveal the plug. Pulled it out and al sorts of horrible colors came out. Started as chocolate milk color then turned to pitch black. It was fairly thick to so im guessing it wasnt even the right fluid to start with. Im gonna replace the drain plug along with the proper oil and take my chances next year that i wont need to jb weld it back up.

 

[halfmoa]

Re: Upper oil drain bolt location on 1972 65hp johnson hydro.

Does the plug screw in properly? Just thinking maybe there's a reason it was jb'd in place...

 

[kit352]

Re: Upper oil drain bolt location on 1972 65hp johnson hydro.

Everything seems fine. Im wondering if it was to possibly prevent water from getting in, maybe due to prior issues. Lately ive been having issues with the reverse and neutral and im hoping this may help but i think its more of serious electrical issue. At the very least ill know its been done. Looking at the oil i caught its pretty crappy. There is no seperation of oil and water. it was just about 10-20% chocolate color and the rest black. Its was fairly thick too. I was honestly expecting worse.
The guy that owned it before me was a bit of a hacker so theres no telling what he was doing. It was a mess when i got it and ive been taking care of some of the bigger ones as i go. This is just another one of those things. Im sure if i ask him itll be one of those "my buddy said he does that every boat he owns" or "I didnt have screwdriver the right size with me so i just put the jb on there to hold it on". only reason i bought the boat was its so simple to work on. My friend bought another of his boats and it was much newer and the crazy stuff he did to it is unreal.

 

[F_R]

Re: Upper oil drain bolt location on 1972 65hp johnson hydro.

That motor is Hydro-Electric shift. It is shifted hydraulically. The electric part only works a couple of flow control valves. The gear oil is the hydraulic oil. The piston that does the shifting is in a very close fitting bore. It absolutely hates dirty oil.