I got tired of lookin' at my '03 50HP I bought a few years back so I had the lower off for a water pump and figured WTH I'll repaint it while it's off.

Before




After





Started with 100 grit Emory cloth then finish sanded with 200 grit wet and dry on the lower and mid sections. Simple green wash and air dry. Acid etch with 50-50 white vinegar and distilled water then let air dry. Distilled water rinse and let air dry. 3 light coats of rattle can BRP zinc phosphate primer. Dried overnight then 4 light coats of rattle can BRP Ocean Pearl white. Buffed out top and side covers with Meguiar's #2 fine cut cleaner. I waited 3 weeks to dry then striped the mid section and applied/buffed a good coat of Mothers carnauba paste wax on the whole mess. Gonna do the Mount/T&T next.

I know OMC quit striping their mid sections decades ago but I like it so I still do it.

New motor on an old boat now.

I saw a boat like yours with those "sponson" (?) extensions on the stern. What is that supposed to do? Give more flotation to support the motor? Make the boat act longer?

Yep, the transom pods also force the water up around the lower unit just like it comes up right behind the transom. This allows you to mount the engine higher so you can run a few inches shallower. They also act like trim tabs so you can trim the engine further back without raising the bow when planing and you get very little bow rise on the hole shot getting on plane.The added buoyancy would definitely help offset the weight of the newer heavier 4-stroke engines. They make for a great seat when were swimming at the sandbar and great steps for getting in and out of the rig.

You can see in this pic how the engine is mounted higher than normal.

Good job on the prop!!

Pretty Awesome

Thanks, spent about an hour with 200 grit on that too.

Bravo! For using the correct paint etc..
Most people just grind them down and shoot a coat of Dollar Store rattle can on them.

Excellent job.  I have the exact same motor and need some lower unit work on it.  I purchased a spare lower unit and going to have the dealer dissassemble them both and use the good parts. I think the forward gear is a bit worn out.  Have you had any issues with yours?  Did you remove the oil injection?

"I think the forward gear is a bit worn out"

Could be a gear, could be the clutch dog.

Any metal in the gear grease when you drain it? If not check your shift cable linkage adjustment under the cowling or for slop/looseness at the shift rod linkage under the carbs.


No issues with my lower. I just change synthetic gear grease yearly and replace anode under the prop as needed.

The clown I bought the rig from did a half ass O/I delete. He took out the remote oil tank and stuffed a wooden plug in the engine oil intake stem and started premixing. It ran great in his yard on the hose but I didn't make half way down my canal before the system check tach put on a light show and the "SLOW" feature kicked in.I didn't want to take the chance and blow $600 on a oil tank to find my O/I pump was bad. I had issues with the O/I fuel pump portion and decided to go retro and delete the whole O/I mess and installed a 48HP fuel pump. The 48 special is in essence a 50HP without O/I. Find an old 48HP and pop the cover. This will show you where to run the fuel line to the fuel manifold and where to place the horizontal fuel filter. This is the fuel pump you will need if you decide to go with the delete. http://www.boats.net/parts/search/BRP/JOHNSON/1990/J48ESLESA/FUEL%20PUMP%20AND%20FILTER%20LATE%20PRODUCTION/parts.html. I removed the O/I pump, blocked off the O/I pulse hose to the crank and mounted the new fuel pump in it's original pulse port location on the exhaust side just in front of the 3 plug junction box with the black plastic cover. Just take out the brass bolt blocking the pulse port and mount new pump there. I reused the fuel manifold to the carbs and primer system from the old O/I pump as well.  If your system check tach gives occasional low/no oil warnings snip the tan-yellow and tan-black wires going to the tach.


Many have just disconnected the O/I pump wiring harness, blocked off the oil hose stem at the engine and started pre mixing using just the fuel pump portion of the original O/I pump with good results. I tried this and had issues with the "SLOW" feature but you may have better luck so I would try this zero cost mod first.

Good Luck!

Running mix-matched forward and pinion gears (that require shimming) isn't a good idea. Gearsets have to "wear in" to each other and each set is different in regards to it's wear pattern. Mix matching forward and pinion gears will cause a failure. On the other hand, mixing a reverse gear and pinion isn't a bad thing as reverse sees very little use and under minimal load most of the time.

What engine? ;-)