Johnson 225 Ocean Runner water leak----- is it normal?

[wingtime]

I replaced the water pump impeller in my 1998 225 Ocean Runner over the weekend.  When I started it up I had good water pressure and a strong pee stream.  I noticed water coming out between the lower unit and the mid section which is normal.  Then I noticed water coming out of the mid section in the cut out under the lower mount.  Now I'm not certain if I had seen this before or if it is normal.  So today I dropped the lower unit.  i wanted to make sure the water tube and the little spacer tube between it and the pump were aligned and connected.  Everything looked OK.  I ran the motor on the hose again and I'm still getting water from the same location.  I also noticed the water pressure bounce around a bit between 20 and 30 when I revved the motor up a bit.  Maybe this is normal... maybe it is not.  could the extra pressur from the garden hose cause this?  Has anyone with a similar motor seen water from here?  I've attached a video below:

Thanks!

[youtube:66al9xec]4yR30pGeg_U[/youtube:66al9xec]

[fitz73222]

Hey Bruce,

Quite normal, its just a drain that helps keep the midsection from filling up with water. You probably have a small leak where the plastic water pump adapter joins the copper water tube. When I did Scotty's 75's on Miss Delmarva, I had an issue with an excessive leak on the starboard engine that was affecting water pressure. I wound up having to run a bead of silicone inside the plastic adapter to cure the leak. Every engine I've had; black or white, small to large has had a small amount of water that comes out of that drain when running on the flush. The water pressure bounce seems to be inherent with running on the flush, all of mine do it, regardless of color! Run it!!

[Georgie]

X2    If you were careful to make sure the pump/impeller housing grommet cleanly fit over the tube, then you're good to go.  The other common leak is where the shift rod enters the mid-housing below the motor mounts...hard to get a good seal there, but doesn't affect operation at all.

[wingtime]

This motor has a 4" long black plastic spacer or coupler that goes between the water pump outlet and the copper water tube in the mid section.  It has a funnel shaped rubber grommet on the top that helps with alignment and sealing it to the tube.  When I dropped the lower the second time to check everything it was aligned OK but it pulled off the water pump and stayed on the tube.  It fits snug on the water pump but not quite as tight on the water tube.  Not loose just not tight either.  So I know everything is in there correctly.  I looked over everything real good with a flashlight.  I have to say I'm impressed with this motor.  There is not a spec of corrosion anywhere to be found.  There is a total lack of salt crystals too, so flushing with the salt terminator clearly helps.  I think I'm going to try running her in the water next.

[fitz73222]

People who take care of their boats dont have corrosion issues. What you're seeing is the care you take for her. Mine are the same way.

[Capt. Bob]

I'm impressed with the posted video. so......

I visited a few You Tube "how to flush" vids on line. Mostly 150s but they all showed water coming from the same area as your concern.
It's been so long since I had my 96 200 I can't say if mine leaked there too.

Good luck.

[gran398]

I'm impressed with the vid too. Like that we can imbed them now.

Bruce, what is the procedure to flush with the salt terminator on the muff? Is there a canister etc. at the end of the hose, between the muff?

[wingtime]

Scott,  Yeah I found the youtube button and gave it a try.  Turns out you have to just paste in the code not the whole link to get it to work.  Pretty cool

To use the Salt Terminator you put this mixing unit on your hose before your muffs.

It mixes the solution with the water while you flush the motor.

I actually use it with my spray nozzle to rinse everything.  That includes the boat, hard top, trailer, motor, fishing gear, and even the under side of my truck.  What really sold me was the salt spots I used to get on my Mercury outboard.  Whenever I washed my boat after going out I would have to wash my Merc off like three or four times to get all the salt spots off of it.  I tried the Salt Away spray and it was gone on the first wash.  After that I bought the mixer unit and every time I used there was not a single salt spot.

There are several brands of salt neutralizer on the market now.  I believe Salt Away was the first one.  West marine has their own brand.  CRC makes the Salt Terminator.  I think they all work the same and have the same basic ingredients.  I use the CRC brand simply because a local wholesale hardware place we use at work carries it at a good price.

Of course there are other things people use such as vinegar and orange degreaser.

[gran398]

Excellent! Thanks for the great info!

Did you find that canister locally, or online? Thanks

[wingtime]

I have gone thru a couple of them.  I bought it locally.  All the different brands seem to use the same mixer just different colors.  The best deal is the combo you get with the jug of neutralizer and the mixer.

[wingtime]

So I pulled off the lower mount cover plates to check for corrosion in the mount and mid section.  Again things were very clean.  There was a little salt build up on the lower bolts but that is it.  Just for grins I ran the motor with the starboard side cover off to see where the water is coming out from.  

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I just cleaned up the bolts and covers.  Sprayed the area down with Corrosion-X and put it all back together.