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1968 Johnson MQ-14E 9.5HP

T

Terry in Ottawa

Contributing Member
I have a chance to buy a 1968 Johnson 9.5 HP, model MQ-14E serial # J2887906.

I think I read here, recently, that OMC used a new wiring harness provider in 1968 and there were a lot of problems with those wiring harnesses.

Is my recollection right? Am I likely to run into problems with wiring on this motor?
 
There is no wiring on a 9.5 except the kill switch. No big deal.

There were much more serious possible problems with the 9.5. Smoke inhalation from various sources. Kind of hard to tell without running it on a boat on the lake.
 
OK, no wiring to worry abut , that's good. Not sure what you mean about smoke inhalation being a problem.

Read through Leeroy's Rambling on the 9.5 and I'm impressed with the amount of information and clarity. Didn't notice any mention of smoke inhalation but I'll be rereading it.
 
I have about 10 of these around my shop. They are a great motor, compact and with plenty of features beneficial to the fisherman. The smoke problems come from too much oil in the fuel mix which when trolling can choke out the motor if the breeze is not carrying it away from the transom area. I have solved that by using Amsoil at 64:1 mix with non ethanol fuel and drilling about 5 to 8 1/4 inch holes in the lower cowling somewhere handy like below the carb. This offers more air intake than the engineers offered. Secondly, these crank seals are very suseptable to ethanol damage. I have had to change many. Its most often the upper seal which is quite easy to change using my special drill and a couple small self tapping screws. The lower seal, however, requires dismantling the entire motor cowling, then, of course, removing the lower unit and center leg section. You will know if a crank seal is bad when you can't get it to troll properly for any amount of time without the "cough", or sneeze. Seals on these were a rubber composition and I have several that I replaced on top of my work bench to show customers what ethanol does.
I could write a book in these 9 1/2's. Have great love for them. Not as strong as the 10 hp or newer 9.9's, but pretty close. How about that trim system, shallow water drive, gear shift right up front, tiller handle versatility, very low profile, very quiet running and so easy to carry.....perfectly balanced. Really, to me, it is brilliant engineering. Truly designed for the small boat hunter and fisherman.
 
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Timguy: You make that motor sound very attractive. It would be a good fit for my brother’s 12’ Jon boat for fishing.

The motor is being sold as part of an online auction with no chance to inspect. I’d be taking a chance bidding on it. Looks fairly clean and intact on the visible pieces in the pictures. Current bid on it is $75 Canadian.
 
Terry in Ottawa said:
OK, no wiring to worry abut , that's good. Not sure what you mean about smoke inhalation being a problem.

Read through Leeroy's Rambling on the 9.5 and I'm impressed with the amount of information and clarity. Didn't notice any mention of smoke inhalation but I'll be rereading it.
Click to expand...

This may be the section although it refers to exhaust gasses rather than smoke.
Exhaust Housing : There is a rubber corrugated boot (as seen in the photo below) that connects the exhaust housing to the outer middle cowling exhaust water outlet. This boot is notorious for becoming cracked and when this happens, you can again get exhaust gasses inside the engine cowling creating the same problem stated above. One way to test for this situation is to remove the cowling and then see if the idling improves. You may still get some contaminated air into the carburetor, but at least you have increased the odds of it getting better clean air. Your best option is to take it the lake or pond, then adjust it on the boat under a load, or if you must adjust it in a barrel, get a fan to blow the exhaust away from the motor and barrel because in a barrel you do not have as much a chance to dissipate any exhaust gas that the engine may be re-breathing.
With reference to the above issue, make sure it runs and idles properly with the hood on ... another common problem with no available parts. However IF you can find a replacement boot it is not that hard a job of replacing it. The boot is held onto the block by a large snap clamp and is just inserted into the hole in the outer exhaust housing. A tip to install it, is to lubricate it with some soapy water. It goes into a hole slightly smaller than the outer end of the boot, which snaps over the outer part of the hole, holding the boot in place.
Also on these 9.5 OMC motors the factory finally identified the situation where running in a barrel, where there was no air movement over the motor to suck fumes away that with the carburetor's air intake setting next to the flywheel, that this flywheel rotation during running, created an air disturbance into the carburetor. Some mechanics would drill a 1/2" hole in the upper cowling above the carburetor throat to allow it to breathe better. They then my bolt a small clamshell over the top to keep water out.
​


You may be able to reduce the visible smoke by running a thinner oil mix but the less visible exhaust gases will have the same detrimental effect on the motor ........... and probably the operator :(
 
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Right, I agree, Mr. Vic. Note: My holes will not introduce a problem by modifying the cowling. But the cowling mod provides a "cleaner air" because it is farther up away from the exhaust gasses. As far as exhaust gasses from Amsoil mix, here is my experience. While I do plenty of marine repairs, my other job is firewood production.....by hand, not a "processor". This means up to 4 hours a day on a chain saw. I have possibly more hours on a "real" chain saw, (not wood carving), than any man alive. I have used Amsoil 100 to 1 pre mix at 64:1 in all my saws for 40 years now. Never had even 1 cigarette in my life. I feel my lungs are still great, no trouble working hard, no trouble breathing.....no cancer, yet!!!! Only burned up 2 saws and one was likely because of the crank seal leaking 90 Jonseruds......had to keep turning down the idle until it developed a "knock". Dumb! I run a Stihl 880 Magnum.....go ahead, look it up. Its a $2,500 saw, (for most of my work, Red Oak). The last thing I want to do is burn up this baby. I still have my very first saw from 1973, its a Stihl 041AV. Needs a set of points now, but still running strong. This was the other saw I burned up. I scored a piston around 1979, but at the time I was running Amsoil at 100:1......dumb! I put on a higher performance Italian made jug/piston. Amsoil is good, but its not THAT GOOD. Now, however, Amsoil offers Saber premix now for "air cooled" equipment. This would likely be fine at 100:1 in saws, but I still trust 64:1.....2 oz. per gallon. I just picked up a mint 041 Farm Boss from Pawn America. The chain had come off and "took out" the housing behind the clutch. I will either change out the case, or repair with JB Weld. The importance of this is simply to keep wood chips and chain oil from getting on the muffler and head. I am going 100:1 with this saw only....as an experiment while using Saber Amsoil. I am going in soon for a hip replacement, so I will resume work with this much lighter saw until I am healed up. Running a 2 stroke motor in your hands for 3 to 4 hours a day just can't be healthy when breathing petroleum based oils at 40:1. I still want to take my grandchildren fishing in the Canadian wilderness. This means portaging with my old 5 hp Johnson, or the CD12. I expect to carry the motor, like my own Dad did up until his 80th birthday.
 
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Get it and run it on a boat. If it runs better with the hood off, you have an exhaust leak. Forget about running it in a barrel. The various exhaust leak paths are well known. Some are easy to fix, some very difficult.

I have to agree, they are a great fishing motor, and most service operations are very easy. However, some things require shucking it out of the outer shell---quite intimidating for the novice. I've done it so often I probably could almost do it blindfolded, way back many years and many tears ago.
 
Gator, how true. They are like a Chinese jigsaw puzzle. Don't try them unless your sober. You will be........damn........do I put that part in now or later?
 
timguy said:
I have about 10 of these around my shop. They are a great motor, compact and with plenty of features beneficial to the fisherman. The smoke problems come from too much oil in the fuel mix which when trolling can choke out the motor if the breeze is not carrying it away from the transom area. I have solved that by using Amsoil at 64:1 mix with non ethanol fuel and drilling about 5 to 8 1/4 inch holes in the lower cowling somewhere handy like below the carb. This offers more air intake than the engineers offered. Secondly, these crank seals are very suseptable to ethanol damage. I have had to change many. Its most often the upper seal which is quite easy to change using my special drill and a couple small self tapping screws. The lower seal, however, requires dismantling the entire motor cowling, then, of course, removing the lower unit and center leg section. You will know if a crank seal is bad when you can't get it to troll properly for any amount of time without the "cough", or sneeze. Seals on these were a rubber composition and I have several that I replaced on top of my work bench to show customers what ethanol does.
I could write a book in these 9 1/2's. Have great love for them. Not as strong as the 10 hp or newer 9.9's, but pretty close. How about that trim system, shallow water drive, gear shift right up front, tiller handle versatility, very low profile, very quiet running and so easy to carry.....perfectly balanced. Really, to me, it is brilliant engineering. Truly designed for the small boat hunter and fisherman.
Click to expand...
Hi Timeguy,

I hope you’re still participating on this site because I’d like to ask you a question.

You sound like a wealth of knowledge on these old outboards. I have a 1968 9.5 MQ-14E. I’m trying to get the gear case off to service the water pump and seals.

I removed the 4 bolts and have the engine in forward but the gear case will not budge.

I would really appreciate tapping into some of your wisdom. Can you please tell me what I’m doing wrong?
 
Maybe the driveshaft is stuck into the crankshaft, rusty? I use anti- seize compound on this 4 spline shaft when I reassemble, others only use grease at best. Will it open enough to spray inside, while upside down with JP80 or P Blaster?
 
If you can get a screwdriver in the joint you may be able to pry it off.----But likely no one greased the spline on the end of the driveshaft.----Now rusted a solid connection.----I too have about 10 of these motors for parts / rebuilding.
 
Thanks for getting back to me. My father purchased the engine new in 69 and he never serviced it. I’m an old aircraft mechanic. I serviced the engine, which runs like a top now, but I had a bad feeling the milkshake in the case was going to cause some damage.

I made a wooden girdle and placed it around the lower unit tried to use that as leverage , but it didn’t move, I ended up cracking a fin.
It’s too bad. I really admired the engineering on that engine too.

Timeguy or Racerone; I appreciate you two helping me out. The outboard is in really great condition minus the lower unit not budging, not even a millimeter. if you need a power head that’s 100% and you feel like picking it up I’d be more than happy to give it to one of you. Feels like such a waste to just trash it.

It’s time for a new one.
 
If anyone needs the original maintenance manual, new lower unit seals and gaskets, new water pump kit, for a 1968. I also have new lower unit seals and gaskets for a 1969. Ping me. We’ll make a deal.
 
I'll get it apart and weld the anticavitation fin, save the piece. Maybe your not far from Duluth MN?
 
I live in NY.
I slept on this, and was thinking I might disassemble the bottom skeg, remove the gears and get a slide hammer on the drive shaft??
 
Of course you cannot wedge or pull too hard on housing itself, because only thing holding driveshaft in gearcase is the tiny drive pin for impeller stopping against pump housing. You can force this to the point where it breaks through the housing, then fasten slide hammer with lower unit removed.
 
Your idea leaves very little room for fastening the slide hammer. My aforementioned method exposes plenty of driveshaft for pulling. Pump housing will survive, or alternatively, I have plenty of used ones, so does Racer.
 
The wedge you will apply to the opening "directly" as Racer mentions. Something with gradual taper, one on each side....tapping in together, about 1" wide so not to mar the surfaces. There is no strength on the anti cavitation surface, as you found....unless the force is applied right where the "fin" meets the housing.
 
Thanks for keeping me honest. I did already consider that, and understood it’s the lessor of the two evils at this point.

Maybe the downward force will jar the drive shaft before the impeller pin snaps.

My buddy suggest I use my hair hammer and try to vibrate the shaft without damaging anything, okay I know there’s a joke in that somewhere lol, to possibly loosen the gunk or rust. I’ll give that shot first.

Thanks again fellas for taking the time to help me think this through.
 
Ha....great idea too. These have real bearings in em too. Probably no damage to rattle them a bit. The pin will just pull through the pump hsg. if she doesn't go. I have a 76 15 hp that the shaft is stuck in also. I've removed lower unit, exhaust housing aka center leg....with minimal damage to pump housing, and over the last 3 years have tried to remove shaft, using every idea....except that air hammer idea. If it works....I owe you one. Might have to cut off shaft and drill out the end? Ha....it has no sign of any rust, either. It's like it was lock tited in place by the last water impeller replacement job. Thinking heat, but don't want to ruin the splines/shaft either. The motor is 125 compression on both cylinders. Actually considering replacement with new impeller and guiding the drive pin through the old hole that it came through the pump housing on disassembly. Ever so clever....
 
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