1999 40 johnson seized?

[dunks]

Just purchased a 1999 40 johnson. First weekend it ran really well till driving it to the launch. Thought it was because it wasn't getting oil. Weekend after took it out and it seemed to being seizing up on me only in gear. Checked compression both are 125. Went to go check the gear oil and noticed not much was in there and it was black with lil bits of metal in it. Going to remove the lower unit tomorrow. Wondering in anyone has any suggestions.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: 1999 40 johnson seized?

Sounds like you found the problem, the combination of gears, bearings, plus no oil don't make for a long lasting mechanical device.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: 1999 40 johnson seized?

I would have thought that there would be water in your lower unit and not just black oil. In the case of no water, the lower unit must have been drained on purpose and doesn't leak. Of course, your lower unit is probably damaged due to lack of oil. I suggest going ahead and taking your lower unit apart and assessing the damage. If you can't do that, try finding a used lower unit (which will probably be difficult). There's a good chance your bearings and gears are bad.
Sadly, checking the lower unit oil is the second thing I would have done after checking compression on a used motor. The third would have been a new water pump impeller whether it needed it or not.
I hope the damage is at least fixable.
Was this motor shipped to you? Lots of people drain the lower unit oil when shipping them, sometimes forgetting to tell the new owner to check the lower unit oil before testing the motor out.
JBJ

 

[dunks]

Re: 1999 40 johnson seized?

No I bought it from a guy. He said he checked the oil and it was fine. I was going to do it after a couple of tanks, its funny because i was going to check it but my old man said i was worrying too much. He is the one that knows how to fix these things too haha.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: 1999 40 johnson seized?

Actually you should check it out a little more. The gearcase doesn't hold a great deal of fluid and its not uncommon for it to be dark with very small particles of metal floating in it, big chunks are bad, tiny specks are normal.

Put it in neutral and turn the prop and see what it feels like, or drop the lower unit so you can do it in gear. It should turn smoothly with little or no noise and no roughness.

 

[dunks]

Re: 1999 40 johnson seized?

Just dropped the bottom end. There is some play when you turn it in gear but it seems smooth when in neutral. There was some larger specs of metal in there more then usual. Just gonna bring it in somewhere and go from there.