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1997 Johnson 175 water in lower

C

champion186

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Heres a good one for ya...

J175GLEUC 1997

Last fall I found water in my lower unit while changing out before the winter. I (well a boat mechanic) did a preasure/leakdown test and both passed. He said it's possible that it could be the plastic washer at the fill was bad (where the pump was attached) So we went ahead and did the water pump while it was off. He stated that he wasn't a fan of the plastic washer style and liked the rubber o-ring. So I switched them out, and put her away.
After My first trip out this year I cracked the lower and I found the milk shake again .
I dropped my lower unit off to a different mechanic and he did all the same test, held pressure over night
even. He also sealed up where the speedo gets its water (don't really know what to call this) He said its the only other place he could think of. He shook the drive shaft, shift shaft and could not get it to loose pressure. Well I took her out and yep.....found water again!!! What am I missing??? He is just as confused as I am.
 
I would replace the driveshaft seals and the shift rod o-ring.-------------Some of the later shift rod housings have 2 o-rings , might be a good idea to upgrade if yours only has one o-ring.
 
How long did the motor sit before checking for water ???-------------Perhaps you want to send the oil sample to a laboratory for analysis.
 
racerone said:
How long did the motor sit before checking for water ???-------------Perhaps you want to send the oil sample to a laboratory for analysis.
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First thanks for you help in this matter.

I never found water....I have the mint chocolate chip colored lube coming out, not what I put in there.

First time I found it was last July when I changed it out. I thought nothing of it, changed it and figured I'd look again before putting her away. I wint to winterize the motor and found the same colored milk shake come out. I called my mechanic, drove over and did a pressure and vacuum test and it passed. We replaced water pump at the same time. So I proceeded to put her away for the winter.

Next spring I checked it BEFORE starting her for the first time this year. I found the milk shake again. This time I flushed her down with diesel fuel to make sure I got all the old milk shake out and replaced both plastic washers (vent and fill screws) and filled it with new lube. I took her out for the day, returned and cracked open the drain screw and bingo...milkshake. After a few curses I removed the lower and gave it to another machanic. He tested it over night, flushed again, sealed where the speedo is and said he could find no leaks. Well I took it out yesterday a few days after getting it back and wallla......milk shake. I'm left $300.00 in the hole with still no fix with two mechanics scratching their head.....both mechanics saw the milkshake and said that water is getting in their, not alot but enough to change the color.
 
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Where I come from it is about $200.00 to do a reseal , parts included.----Not sure what kind of help you are getting ?
 
racerone said:
Where I come from it is about $200.00 to do a reseal , parts included.----Not sure what kind of help you are getting ?
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Massachusetts....yep I paid each mechanic $150.00 each and still not fixed. I'm pretty upset and at my boiling point. I have no problem paying for service but thought I was taken for. I wish I had someone to do the job for that. They wanted $475.00 to reseal my lower and wouldn't warrant not getting any water. I may just run it the way it is and change out the lower lube once a month. I don't know where else to look for this water issue.
 
guyjg said:
It may be cheaper for you to ship the L/U to someone for a reseal...call around. Some of the members here are near you. Bondo is in NewYork and Dockside Marine Service is in New Jersey.

For what you have spent and will have to pay consider a new LU call http://www.sterndrive.cc/mm5/mercha...ode=SE&Category_Code=JohnsonEvinrudeLowerUnit
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Yeah I already spoke to them about a possible purchase. I think I'm going to try and replace both the drive and shift shaft seals myself first. I've read that they could have a leak while under way but will not lose pressure/vacuum on a bench test.

Do the two shift shaft seals come out from the bottom of the cover or the top? It looks like a small pick can remove them? When I insert the shift rod back thru the shift cover (two new seals already installed) do I need to lube the shaft so it doesn't damage the new seals while I slide that down into place?

Thanks again for your time.
 
Remember that the shift rod must be set at a specific height when it is installed again.--------Easy to remove the shift rod o-ring / s with a pick either from bottom or top.-----Easy to replace the driveshaft seals as well.-------Yes you are correct worn seals tend to seal better when there is pressure on them.----------Some grease on the o-rings / shift rod allows for easy assembly.
 
racerone said:
Remember that the shift rod must be set at a specific height when it is installed again.--------Easy to remove the shift rod o-ring / s with a pick either from bottom or top.-----Easy to replace the driveshaft seals as well.-------Yes you are correct worn seals tend to seal better when there is pressure on them.----------Some grease on the o-rings / shift rod allows for easy assembly.
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Thanks again!

I plan on counting how many turns it takes to bury the shift shaft, also a measurement to be safe.

When you say "seals" for the drive shaft, thought there was only one? The exploded view only shows one on my 1997 Johnson 175 gleuc. Am I missing one or are you referring to the bearing housing as another seal? I only ordered the drive shaft seal along with the gasket that goes underneath the bearing housing.
 
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It appears they are updating the seals on these.----Older motors had 2 seals and new ones / kits have one seal with 2 springs and lips as one assembly.---Saves on inventory and shop assembly time I guess.
 
Well I dropped the gearcase this weekend to replace those two seals. You were right....pretty easy job so far. The only potential issue I caould see is where the bearing housing seats there a little nick where the flange is. I'll just go ahead and replace the shift and drive shaft seals and see where it goes. I'll report back.
 
I noticed in the bearing housing seal there's a little hole in the bottom slot. Where should this hole be facing? towards the prop or opposite way?
 
No picture posted , but there are 2 grooves I believe.----So the oil can travel around the lower groove to the hole in the main housing.----Some older housings used to have " front " on them but on yours it does not matter.------Put housing in so that the 2 holes are closest together I would say.----Upper groove is for the O-ring !!
 
racerone said:
No picture posted , but there are 2 grooves I believe.----So the oil can travel around the lower groove to the hole in the main housing.----Some older housings used to have " front " on them but on yours it does not matter.------Put housing in so that the 2 holes are closest together I would say.----Upper groove is for the O-ring !!
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Thats what I figured. I do have two grooves and my manual said use upper groove for the seal. They don't talk about the lower groove with the hole.

I'll put them close together.

Thanks and I'll be putting her together and testing this weekend.
 
Well racerone.....its fixed! it ended up being the drive shaft seal. I took her out sat. and as soon as I pulled her off the water I cracked the fill screw, no milk shake!! Thanks for your effort in this!!!
 
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