Can You ID This Outboard?

I've been away far too long. I was going to wait until the end of this season and pick up a boat on the cheap, but I pulled the trigger on a 16' Lund Deep Vee a week ago. I'm going to fish it as is this year, but I can't wait to start making it my own this winter!

Anyway, it's got a nice 25 HP Johnson on it, but beyond that I know very little about the motor. It runs (I made the seller show me), and apparently it takes a 50:1 fuel mixture.

I'd like to know what year it is, so I could get a manual for it. Yes I know there is supposed to be an ID plate on the mounting plate with a serial number, but the plate is gone. You can quite clearly see in one of the pictures below the raised area where the ID plate would be and the two holes the screws would fit into.

So here is your challenge! What is the year and model of this Johnson 25 HP?
The pictures below are your clues!

1984 Johnson 25hp. The battleship gray was the trademark for that year.

There is a welch plug on the starboard side of the block just behind the fuel pump. It is about the size of a quarter, it is an aluminum plug and is dull grey or sometimes painted black. Get us that serial number and we can confirm, but I am pretty sure pappy nailed already =D>

And yes 50:1 is the correct mixture. If the motor still has the 100:1 sticker remove it. That was an OMC mistake so do not run 100:1

I didn't find the plug you spoke of, but I did find a conspicuous silver plate with the following stamped on it...

393955 25 MX D J

Would that be something?

The plug is the circular silver tag in the photo, bottom left behind the fuel pump. All OMC's have the, or should.


Where did you find the metal tag that had those numbers? On the float bowl of the carburetor maybe?

Now I see where the quarter-sized plug should be. It's not there as you can see in the picture below. Also, there's a shot of the rectangular silver plate I got the previous numbers from. I guess it should be noted the silver plate is upside down. I had to stand on my head to read the numbers :LOL2: .

FishyItch said:

Now I see where the quarter-sized plug should be. It's not there as you can see in the picture below. Also, there's a shot of the rectangular silver plate I got the previous numbers from. I guess it should be noted the silver plate is upside down. I had to stand on my head to read the numbers :LOL2: .

Click to expand...

So you have a hot motor. Just kidding. :LOL2:
I'm sure you came about it honestly.

I think Pappy nailed the year.

Just curious, is that white thing a fuel filter in the last pic?

Yeah it looks like the plug has been removed #-o....... That would concern me a little, especially since the tag on the transom bracket has also been removed. Those plugs and plates don't just fall out or off on there own usually.

First, is that white thing a fuel filter? No idea. This is actually the first outboard I've owned. When I was younger I fished electric only or from shore, and the last 6 years I've simply been too busy to do any serious fishing.

Secondly, it certainly appears that the identification has been removed on purpose. The guy I boat the boat from seemed honest enough. He said he bought the boat from an older gentlemen about 10 years ago.

This is curious. Should I be legitimately concerned about this sort of thing?

Nah probably not, it is old enough that it wouldn't really matter anyway. There is a chance it could have been stolen at one time or another but with no tags on it now you will probably never know. Unfortunately people do steal outboards like this one, it is just light enough to pull off someones boat quickly. There has been a few stories in the paper and the news around here over the years of motors being stolen off of boats at night in the local marina's so it does happen. Also it can happen if you leave your boat out in the street. Theses outboards when newer can be worth a lot of loot. But once you get up into the 40hp and up it becomes harder to steal them due to weight and the way larger outboards are usually mounted.

I agree its harder when bigger and mounted but.....
my buddy lives in Crestwood, IL, he woke up one morning, was drinking coffee and noticed something weird about his boat in the backyard. Went out there and sure enough, one of his 115 hp yamaha 4-stroke OB's was gone from his 22' ProCat. About a year old, they even put the nuts back on the bolts for him, disconnected everything like they had no worries at all.
Tim

Wow that is ballsy, must have been at least 2 (strong) guys to take a motor like that. They are very awkward to move around by hand at that size and weight without dropping them.

FishyItch said:

First, is that white thing a fuel filter? No idea. This is actually the first outboard I've owned. When I was younger I fished electric only or from shore, and the last 6 years I've simply been too busy to do any serious fishing.

Secondly, it certainly appears that the identification has been removed on purpose. The guy I boat the boat from seemed honest enough. He said he bought the boat from an older gentlemen about 10 years ago.

This is curious. Should I be legitimately concerned about this sort of thing?

Click to expand...

No worries.

I would recommend a little PM.
Give her a new water pump impeller, change the gear case lube
and put new washers on the drain/fill plugs.

Go fishing.

edit: I found a OMC factory service manual on ebay that will cover your motor, but it's a little spendy. If you're patient, you can probably find a better deal. Also, sometimes I've been successful at negotiating a better price with the seller. Worth a shot anyways.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1980-omc-evinrude-outboard-service-manual-hp-25-35-many-model-e25rcs-e35rcs-etc-/221048510680?hash=item33778498d8&item=221048510680&pt=Motors_Manuals_Literature&vxp=mtr

I found this in terms of a manual. Do you think this would work? It's digital, but a quarter of the price.

https://www.recrepairinfo.com/produ...de-johnson-25hp-outboard-repair-manual-p-8498

It will probably work fine, but i like to have my manual right next to me while I am working on my motor. But maybe you can bring your laptop to the garage heh? The option of exploding the view to be easier to see is a nice option also.... If you get it then you must report on how well it works

At only $9 I'm going to give it a shot.

That's $30 cheaper than the one currently listed on eBay. If I really wanted I could probably use that $30 and go to Kinko's and have my own manual made.

I'm going to order it now and I'll let you guys know how it goes.

The manuals look pretty good.

I actually got two for the price of one.

The first is a '71-'89 1.25-60 HP manual and the second is a '73-'90 2-40 HP manual.

Uh oh sounds like you bought the Seloc manual...... #-o These manuals are only good for staring fires. And I truly mean that. What you want is an OEM service manual for your specific year and model of motor. Believe me when I tell you that the original service manual is a MUST have...... Those seloc manuals are not worth 2 cents

Bummer.

Well (frustrated sigh), I guess it's better to know this now than when I'm standing in a pile of nuts, bolts, gears, lube and casings.

I've spent $9 in stupider ways, that's for sure. (Haven't we all?) And just to make sure, here's some screenshots of the first page of each manual.

And before I go to bed, another question for you guys...

If I take this motor in to have it tuned up (I live a mile from a small engine place that comes very highly recommended), will the folks working there be turned off by the missing ID plates?