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Please help with 1997 Johnson Repair Advice

A

Allen Aviation

New member
Hey guys. New member here. I’ve done restoration work on three smaller antique outboards but have not gotten into anything like this, with controls and such. Yesterday, in a near empty launch lot, someone managed to clip this motor with his car. The car got the worst of it. Two major castings are broken-the steering bracket and the swivel bracket, together about $500 in parts cost. A handful of other smaller tilt parts are bent or broken so I think there’s about $800 in parts that I know of.

The steering bracket looks like an easy job, Correct?

The swivel bracket looks difficult – or not? Does the power head need to be removed? Any special tools required to change it out?

The driver’s insurance contacted me the same day and opened a claim for me. I suspect that they won’t make me tow it to a mechanic for an estimate, they’ll just offer a $ settlement. Any idea of the amount I should accept, based on a repair by a shop? Or take the $ and repair it myself?

My assessment. I don’t think the hit was really that hard, there was just a lot of leverage since the motor was at full tilt, which broke the mounting parts. There’s a stainless steel prop saver bolted to the skeg and that poor thing got the brunt of it. Since the motor was hanging by the cables, I checked all functions. Starting, steering, throttle and shift are all fine. THANKS!
 

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I'd also be worried about the damage to the transom that might not be visible yet. I'd tell the insurance company that you WANT to take it to a shop and get an estimate for reapairs and have them look the motor and boat over very carefully and make sure you're not overlooking something that he might notice. You're in the "driver's seat" here. Don't be too quick to give away your time and talents by just estimating the cost of parts. Your time is worth something and you need to be compensated for it. Now, if it's a neighbor or close friend, that might be a different story. But if it's a complete stranger, I'd make sure I was compensated for my time, lost fun in the water, and throw in a little extra for the PITA factor. I'm not recommending that you rob someone blind, but you may have damages that you aren't even aware of yet.
 
Oldsaltydog said:
I'd also be worried about the damage to the transom that might not be visible yet. I'd tell the insurance company that you WANT to take it to a shop and get an estimate for reapairs and have them look the motor and boat over very carefully and make sure you're not overlooking something that he might notice. You're in the "driver's seat" here. Don't be too quick to give away your time and talents by just estimating the cost of parts. Your time is worth something and you need to be compensated for it. Now, if it's a neighbor or close friend, that might be a different story. But if it's a complete stranger, I'd make sure I was compensated for my time, lost fun in the water, and throw in a little extra for the PITA factor. I'm not recommending that you rob someone blind, but you may have damages that you aren't even aware of yet.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Insurance is still determining if it's covered - and the next step. One shop advised me that they'll likely not require an estimate or accept one. They'll just offer a settlement, but I'll push for an estimate and overall damage assessment. If I get lucky and the payment covers most of the cost of a new motor, I might do that. A new 20 HP (instead of 25 HP) would make this a desirable rig in these parts due to 20 HP limits on some lakes. People are always on the lookout for that- and this small 15 foot 50th anniversary edition is still in excellent all original condition. Thanks again!
 

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The 20 and 25 are basically the same. Most folks go to a large boat repair place and look around for a 25 HP cowling to put on their 25 HP motor. Just a thought. I used to do that at a campground I used to take my boys to that only allowed up to 9.9 motors. I had a 15 HP, but borrowed a neighbors cover off of his 9.9 to get out onto that lake at the campground. So, it's YOUR insurance company having to cover this? That doesn't seem right!
 
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