Reply To: Gas / fuel leak help on a 1954 25hp Johnson RD-15

[jdean]

Thank you everyone for your responses!

I will definitely look into a more environmentally friendly 2-cycle oil. I was a bit entertained in the manual on page 256 where it said, “Do not be alarmed if an oil “slick” forms on the surface of the water when operating for any length of time at slow speed–it’s the result of crankcase bleeding as described.” Yeah… i left the boat idling at the dock to warm up with my boys while I parked the truck and boat trailer, and I came back to a definite “oil slick” at the dock. I don’t care what the manual says, it IS alarming because I’d prefer to leave things better than I found them if I can, not covered in oil.

Initially I was very concerned that the inner crank seal had blown and all of the gas / oil was leaking out. I am very relieved to find that this is just a normal function of the engine to flush out the extra gas that accumulates. I hope that sometime in the last 70 years, someone has figured out how to use this fuel and not just dump it out the exhaust. I would assume that modern 2-cycles have this feature? 🙂

Yes, my steering will be incredibly well lubed!

I have been searching around to see what I should be torquing down the bolts to that hold the powerhead on. Since I can’t find anything, I’m assuming that how tight they are isn’t that important, just coat the base gasket in gasket sealing compound and snug them down?

Thanks again for being willing to share your experience and wisdom!