I'm very new to boat motors. I've got a 1973 Johnson 135 Outboard on a
old Caravelle. I recently rebuilt the transom and floor, but when I put
the motor back on and ran the boat the lower unit leaked and stripped
the lower unit gears.

I'm looking to buy a used one. Does an ESL model have a longer shaft
than normal?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks, Jason

I know nothing about your particular motor but when I needed a new lower
unit last year, everyone was talking about a shot shaft/long shaft, 15 or
20" and I found there's no such measurement on the motor. Measure your
transom height which should be close to one ot those numbers.
LD
wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm very new to boat motors. I've got a 1973 Johnson 135 Outboard on a
old Caravelle. I recently rebuilt the transom and floor, but when I put
the motor back on and ran the boat the lower unit leaked and stripped
the lower unit gears.

I'm looking to buy a used one. Does an ESL model have a longer shaft
than normal?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks, Jason

wrote:
I'm very new to boat motors. I've got a 1973 Johnson 135 Outboard on a
old Caravelle. I recently rebuilt the transom and floor, but when I put
the motor back on and ran the boat the lower unit leaked and stripped
the lower unit gears.

I'm looking to buy a used one. Does an ESL model have a longer shaft
than normal?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks, Jason


ES= Electric Start
L = 20" Shaft

Your outboard has the "PowerShift II" lower unit - a replacement with a
similar 85-90-115-135-140 unit up to about 1977-1978 should be possible
- keep in mind that the 135/140 has a different gear ratio than the others.



Rob

trainfan1 wrote:
wrote:
I'm very new to boat motors. I've got a 1973 Johnson 135 Outboard on a
old Caravelle. I recently rebuilt the transom and floor, but when I put
the motor back on and ran the boat the lower unit leaked and stripped
the lower unit gears.

I'm looking to buy a used one. Does an ESL model have a longer shaft
than normal?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks, Jason


ES= Electric Start
L = 20" Shaft

Your outboard has the "PowerShift II" lower unit - a replacement with a
similar 85-90-115-135-140 unit up to about 1977-1978 should be possible
- keep in mind that the 135/140 has a different gear ratio than the others.



Rob


On a slightly different note. What kind of expertise does take to
rebuild? I recently found a service manual and found out that my shaft
is an extra long shaft and is 26 13/32 in. Also, it has the lower unit
disassembly and assembly. I'm not sure if mine has a hydro-mechanical
or mechanical shift assembly. Is there any way to tell?

On a scale from 1-10 how difficult is doing all of this myself?
On a scale from 1-10 how difficult is doing all of this with a
helicopter mechanic helping me?

Thanks, Jason

wrote:
trainfan1 wrote:

wrote:

I'm very new to boat motors. I've got a 1973 Johnson 135 Outboard on a
old Caravelle. I recently rebuilt the transom and floor, but when I put
the motor back on and ran the boat the lower unit leaked and stripped
the lower unit gears.

I'm looking to buy a used one. Does an ESL model have a longer shaft
than normal?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks, Jason


ES= Electric Start
L = 20" Shaft

Your outboard has the "PowerShift II" lower unit - a replacement with a
similar 85-90-115-135-140 unit up to about 1977-1978 should be possible
- keep in mind that the 135/140 has a different gear ratio than the others.



Rob



On a slightly different note. What kind of expertise does take to
rebuild? I recently found a service manual and found out that my shaft
is an extra long shaft and is 26 13/32 in. Also, it has the lower unit
disassembly and assembly. I'm not sure if mine has a hydro-mechanical
or mechanical shift assembly. Is there any way to tell?

On a scale from 1-10 how difficult is doing all of this myself?
On a scale from 1-10 how difficult is doing all of this with a
helicopter mechanic helping me?

Thanks, Jason


"PowerShift II" is the hydro-mechanical unit. If the case is fine, the
bearings have not spun, and you can flush any FMC(Fine Metal
Contamination)you can rebuild with parts from Sierra pretty
economically, but you will need some special tools(see the manual) and
know how to set the lash properly(includes having a suitable selection
of shims on hand) & seat the seals.

I usually take the lower unit off myself and deliver it to my "leg guy"
who has all the tools and his bench is set up for quick turn-around.

Where are you measuring 26 13/32 in.?

Rob

Thanks for the advise. I got the measurement from the service manual
for a 1973-77 135hp. Extra Long Shaft. I have yet to take anything
apart.
I'm low on money so I thought I could fix it up myself. How much does
it usually cost to have a lower unit gearcase rebuilt?

wrote:
Thanks for the advise. I got the measurement from the service manual
for a 1973-77 135hp. Extra Long Shaft. I have yet to take anything
apart.

I meant where on your outboard did you take the "shaft" measurment.

The "XL", or 25" shaft, was not available until 1977.

The 135ESL73 model is a 20" shaft model, which refers to the height(or
depth) of the transom for which the engine is designed to work on. This
measurement can be taken by measuring from the stern bracket transom
rest point, down to the cavitation plate, and will be very close to 20",
although the actual driveshaft length from the crank to the pinion gear
is agreeably longer(probably about the 26 13/32 you quoted earlier).

I'm low on money so I thought I could fix it up myself. How much does
it usually cost to have a lower unit gearcase rebuilt?


You have to have a parts list 1st to estimate. It's about 3.5 hours
once the unit is on the bench for dissassemble/reassemble. It really
helps to have the special tools, too.

Rob

Your probably right that it's a 20'' shaft model, but that never
occured to me since I knew that the shaft length was greater than 20''
when I measured from the top of the shaft to where it enters the lower
unit. That's definetly one piece of information that comes from
experience (that I don't have). I think the service manual was talking
about the full shaft length, top to bottom.

I looked in the manual and it does give Extra Long Shaft measurements
for 1973-77 year models.

Jason