Reading about an O'DAY 25 owner's problems as he commisioned his Diesel brought to mind a problem that we had this past week with the 1993 JOHNSON 9.9hp outboard on our little powerboat. It should serve as a warning to anyone the has a 1993-95 model 9.9 or 15 (2-stroke) outboard on their boat. The top mount for the engine, what connects the top of hte mounting/pivot bracket to the main body of the engine, consists of 2 aluminum "blocks" located inside the mid-section of the engine. These are kind of buried near the top, just under the powerhead. My dad was approaching the mooring and when he went to shift into neutral, it was just enough force to snap both of the upper mounts, luckily the lower mount somewhat restrained the engine and he shut everthing down before more damage could happen (including bending the shift-rod that connects the upper and lower parts of the engine). The 2 mounts, which are aluminum castings, had corroded to the point of being brittle and just cracked apart.
We operate in saltwater, and it is possible that freshwater affects these parts less...but this should serve as a warning to inspect these parts if you outboard is among those model years. I checked the 4-stroke models of that vintage (8-15hp), they have a different mount design, that appears to be much better. The big problem (other than the difficulty of inspecting the mounts) is that the parts are no longer available. 1996 and newer models seem to have a different mount design, based on the fact that the part# is different and is available for those years. I also checked the design on 1992 and older engines, basically the same as the 1993-95 models, different part# for the mounts....... and get this, they ARE still available. Seems like OMC came up with an "improvement" for 1993 that wasn't a true improvement, but a step back?
We ended up trading in our 1993 JOHNSON 9.9 for a "freshwater" 1997 EVINRUDE 9.9hp. Price was right, and we only lost a week's use of the boat.
Below I have posted a picture of the mounts on the 9.9/15 they are "sealed" but still subject to the effects of a steamy, damp enviroment.
We operate in saltwater, and it is possible that freshwater affects these parts less...but this should serve as a warning to inspect these parts if you outboard is among those model years. I checked the 4-stroke models of that vintage (8-15hp), they have a different mount design, that appears to be much better. The big problem (other than the difficulty of inspecting the mounts) is that the parts are no longer available. 1996 and newer models seem to have a different mount design, based on the fact that the part# is different and is available for those years. I also checked the design on 1992 and older engines, basically the same as the 1993-95 models, different part# for the mounts....... and get this, they ARE still available. Seems like OMC came up with an "improvement" for 1993 that wasn't a true improvement, but a step back?
We ended up trading in our 1993 JOHNSON 9.9 for a "freshwater" 1997 EVINRUDE 9.9hp. Price was right, and we only lost a week's use of the boat.
Below I have posted a picture of the mounts on the 9.9/15 they are "sealed" but still subject to the effects of a steamy, damp enviroment.
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