possible damage to motor while trailering???

[George Chamberlain]

I purchased my first sailboat today, a 1982 O'Day 22. Trailered it home from Fairfield CT, about 120 mi over pretty rough (at times) Highway 95. The motor was on the motor mount in the raised position for the trip, was apparently shaken up quite a bit by the potholes and other construction. The motor is a 1982 Johnson Sailmaster 9.9. Anyway, the motor now has some heavy oil leaking (a little bit) at the top of the lower unit, and (a little more volume) leaking onto the prop. Has anyone else trailered over rough roads and experienced this? Hope I didn't just kill the L.U. For the second half of the trip (we stopped for gas and saw the problem developing) I secured the motor with a dockline to cushion its "bouncing" against the motor mount. My wife was in the car behind me, and told me the motor rode better with the line securing it.Sorry for the long post, hope I get a speedy reply - we want to launch in the morning!

 

[Keith K.]

Oil could be spilling, but...

To be safe I'd have a mechanic check it out. I've been told not to have the outboard on the motor mount while trailering...it's hard on the mount and the motor.It's possible the oil just sloshed out but I'd be concerned about any leaking fluid. Be safe and have it checked out.Keith K.S.V. Vesta#6348

 

[Dave]

leaking lower unit

lower units are sealed so if any oil is leaking out it means a seal has been compromised. If you launch and then oil leaks out you are liable for a fine for water pollution. One quart of oil will pollute millions of gallons of water. You might also want to check to see if it is gas with oil mixed in. It might be leaking from the carburetor whith the gas in the float bowl sloshing around.dave

 

[Mark]

lower unit seals

If your motor is a 2-stroke, the only oil in it would be in the lower unit. There's a seal(or 2) under the water pump, and the prop seal, which may be a "double" seal. One way to keep oil in, the other to keep water out.Easy fixes for theDIY-er. Good time to check out water pump, as well.

 

[mmsailor]

towing

Previous posts addressed the outboard issue, and admittedly , this gets discussed a lot , but there is a very large group of people who agree that towing with a motor on a motor mount is not a good idea, the transom was not designed to support the weight of a bouncing motor, also if for some reason the motor came off and went thru a windshield or caused an accident you would be liable,hope the motor is ok and that u enjoy the boat, we all learn as we go so take care , stop back here often Mike Bacome