Re: Johnson RDE-17R?

[frankr]

quote OLCAH:

Following up on Frank’s information, what was done when the lower seal failed on the 17S and 17R engines?
Could the seal be changed to the carbon seal?

Well the deal was that OMC had a very good carbon seal up into the 1955 model year. Then I guess some genius figured out that they could save a couple of bucks by using an ordinary lip type seal. Problem is the seal they chose promptly fell apart and allowed water to get into the crankcase, which destroyed the powerhead. This often happened within the first year, and a lot of powerheads were replaced under warranty. The following year, they changed back to the carbon seal.

Yes you can convert to a carbon seal, but you have to replace the lower main bearing to do it.

At the very least, anybody that has one of the affected motors should at least remove the powerhead and replace the lip seal with a new one.