Johnson 115 won’t go forward prop doesn’t spin

[FultonD33]

Okay so I’m thinking about about buying a boat with a 2001 Johnson 115 on it. He said the foot is bad and forward gear is stripped but it sounds like he is just assuming. He said when you put it in forward it pops and the prop doesn’t spin. Is it a shift cable or something like that (hopefully not a bad lower unit)? I need help ASAP thanks!

 

[racerone]

I do not consider those lower units to be robust at all.---Many sudden failures of gear teeth.---I believe there is a basic design flaw.----Drain gear oil.---Likely you will find chunks on the magnet.----New gears are pricy.---After market lower unit may be available at about $1000 or so.

 

[emoney]

If you buy the boat assuming it's a simple fix, then I'm not sure how we can help, lol. It's definitely the correct tact to assume the worse and proceed accordingly. As Racerone mentioned, best to budget $1k for a new LU and if it's still a "deal" then great. If it was a shift cable problem, doesn't it make more sense that the Seller would be either getting that fixed or pricing it minus the cost of said repair? Do yourself a favor and don't assume you found the "diamond in the rough" because there's a ton of threads around here that start "I GOT A GREAT DEAL" and end with, "well...it went to the dump today, cut up into pieces".

 

[FultonD33]

Thanks for the advice! It’s on a 01 Javelin 17 and he said the transom has some minor stress cracks as well as it needs carpet. He only wants $900 though and he said the motor runs it just had the forward issue.