Need lower unit help please

Ok,so here is my issue.First off i opened up my lower unit and i mean very little oil came out.I don't think anything is wrong though because the motor hasn't been ran in a long while and the seals in the lower plugs were just shot but i can't tell for sure here.

I'm almost positive someone has near a 95 15hp 2stroke merc or any yr close to that.So i did a ton of work to it,replaced the lower unit plugs with good new seals,etc...

So here is my question?With the outboard off when i shift into forward it clicks so that seems to be normal/in neutral it spins freely/in reverse it doesn't spin either way and locks.So my question is/is this normal for a 15hp 2stroke merc?I just can't remember if it is.I had one yrs ago and can't remember for the life of me.

Thanks for any help.

Think there needs to be some clarification on your part.
You said it had very little oil. No mention of water? Oil normally does not leak out of a gearcase without water leaking back in.
In it you said you replaced the plugs with seals..............??
Needs clarification. If you meant that you just replaced the fill and drain screw plug seals....that is not a gearcase re-seal.

You also said it clicks in forward (normal so far...what else does it do or not do? Lock in? Spin? Did it work before you took it apart?)
It spins in Neutral (normal)
It locks in reverse (normal)
THAT needs clarification as well.

Ok, i drained the lower unit and only a little bit of oil came out,no water whatsoever.I thought that was extremely strange.I got the motor off a guy on ebay and it looks in excellent condition and hasn't been used very much.Never in saltwater either.I open the drain plugs and there were just fragments left of the washers,the washers were gone, frayed pieces so my guess is since the motor was put up for quite a while the oil had just leaked out over time and when he shipped it to me it was drained from sitting a long time.I don't know what else could have been done,especially with no water in it,just flat out strange.I won't complain though if it works great.

I replaced the little round washers on the drain plugs,refilled the lower unit with royal purple lower unit oil,the best imo and it doesn't leak a drop yet.I need to go run it in a lake to see if in fact the 2 seals are gone,one on the prop shaft and one under the water pump.I took it apart and redid the whole water pump kit from the gasket up,metal plate,key,washers,impeller,housing,guide,etc.... so i'm hoping it doesn't leak,i'm hoping from just sitting over time it leaked out from poor washers sealing it and the owner may have drained it before shipping,either way i'm glad i didn't run it.There was literately nothing left of the washers,i had to take a small screw driver and clean the hole area of what was left of washer fragments so i can see how it's possible it could have leaked out with no washers to hold the oil in.

Now i also found out in forward it should click clockwise,neutral spin freely,reverse it should have full resistance both ways which is exactly what it has so i believe there is no damage as far as i'm hoping anyway.I just found it completely strange a little oil with no water or anything came out and the oil looked fairly clean.Very strange.

I see no need for any concern at this point. You've done everything you can to run it.

Now run it. After a couple good hours, drain the fluid into a clean container and inspect it.

Any issues will be apparent.

If you got it off e bay,the oil should have been drained prior to shipping. Your not allowed to ship anything like that with oil or gas in it, cars are different. You HAVE to be able to drive on and off the hauler.

It seems to be ok so far,all the teeth seem to be catching with no issues when I try to turn it in reverse,there is no movement either way,that is what it supposed to do in reverse when the motor is not in use. Also forward it clicks one way and restricted the other so that is good and normal,neutral it spins freely

You said they have to drain lower unit oil,I didn't know that and he never said it was to me so I'm glad I didn't run it anyway. Every motor shipped to me from ebay or from a place online called online outboards.com has had oil in the lower unit but any crank case oil was drained on a 4stroke. I guess they don't care if that's the case about the oil supposed to be drained. Oh well all seems ok so far.

Charger25 said:

If you got it off e bay,the oil should have been drained prior to shipping. Your not allowed to ship anything like that with oil or gas in it, cars are different. You HAVE to be able to drive on and off the hauler.

Click to expand...

+1 The oil was likely drained for shipping purposes.