1998 Johnson 225 hp Question Re Lower Mount Cover

"Everything is running fine on the motor but as I was rinsing her down this afternoon I noticed a slight crack in the center portion of the starboard lower mount cover (see pic). It appears the crack is circular and maybe 1/4 inch diameter similar to a small button that has come slightly undone. I could not move the "button" with my finger, it feels very solid and am not sure what caused this to occur as there seems to be no issues with the motor. The motor is coming up due for the annual service so that may shed some light. Curious to see if there are any major issues to be aware of prior to replacing the cover? Obviously would like to continue to run it for the next few weeks but do not want to take any chances. Thanks for any and all opinions.

Lower Cover Mount-Starboard

"it appears,that a dowel,on th

"it appears,that a dowel,on the mount,has knocked thru?...i have seen it before,but on eng's that hit something,etc... go to--> shop.evinrude.com and look at the schematic...go to right sd of pg,.. elect parts catalogue."

"I can't tell you what tha

"I can't tell you what that's all about on a 1998, but I can tell you what its about on a 1990. Mine did that too. Went to replace the cover, found out that the lower mount was badly corroded and "expanded." It not only broke the cover, it broke a section out of the midsection behind the mount. The "pin" is in the center of the engine mount. The mount consists of three wedge shaped aluminum blocks, encased in rubber. When it starts corroding internally, the mount expands, and the problems occur. I replaced both lower mounts on both of mine, and two broken covers. I will be replacing the midsection soon too, unfortunately. Be sure to heat the #$%^&* out of the cover bolt thread area, or they will shear on you. If you do in fact need to change your mounts, report back & will tell you the trick that makes it easy."

Uuuugghhhh...do you think corr

Uuuugghhhh...do you think corrosion would apply to a 98? I was about to order the mount cover thinking this would be a fairly simple repair...I guess I will never know the whole story until I remove the cover and unfortunately that may not be easy as the bolts could break off? I was planning on using a socket to loosen the bolts but have no heat source....maybe I can try spraying with WD40 or similar?

"You can also access all the p

"You can also access all the parts diagrams from this web site and in the spring we be the only site to have all part diagrams from 1950 - 1967 on our site
http://www.marineengine.com/parts/parts.php"

"Something pushed the mount pi

"Something pushed the mount pin through nearly a half inch of aluminum. Although your engine looks as clean as it could be, a corroded mount is the only thing I could think of. A propane plumber's torch at about $20 or less is the preferred tool. Once you pull the cover, you will know the story. I hope I am wrong!"

The boat sits in the water and

The boat sits in the water and is due for its annual maintenance. The concern I have is having major issues getting the bolts off and if I get the cover off how difficult is replacing the mount assuming it is corroded? If I run into problems I will have to get towed. I am starting to believe it may be best to have the service center work on this along with the annual maintenance. I assume the motor will start and I could run just above idle to the service center?

"I decided to try and get the

"I decided to try and get the bolts off. Thankfully after spraying with Blaster I was able to get them loose although not easily. The interior center of the cover where the nub end of the dowel from the rubber mount fit had some salt buildup which is what caused the crack to occur. This corroded aluminum nub dowel end was still surrounded by the original rubber which I kept. The rubber mount looked intact and solid although now missing this end piece. I think I can seal the rubber mount with a bit of 5200 and install a new cover. Most likely I could have still used the boat but eventually salt water would intrude through the exterior crack. Hopefully the repair will work, I believe it will. Thanks for all who posted helpful comments!!! I did learn quite a bit and hope to not see this happen again any time soon."