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1990 Force 120hp Powerhead Removal

J

justin12747

Member
Looking for some help. Long story short, I Damaged the water pickup tube and I need to remove the powerhead to get to it and fix the grommet. Does anyone have a step by step on powerhead removal for this motor. I've removed 6 nuts on the bottom of the powerhead and 5 bolts in the front that were securing the powerhead to the midsection. Are there any more nuts/bolts that I could be missing? Does the shift linkage beneath the carbs need to be taken off? This is my first time doing this. It's not budging so thinking I may have missed something?

Another question. Im getting shocked by one of the spark plugs. Has anyone ever changed out a spark plug boot on one of these? Does the boot just pop off the wire?

Thanks in advance
 
Also after I get the powerhead off. What gaskets will I need to replace? Is there any other maintenance I should do while the powerhead is off?
 
I found the bolt I was missing. It was up under the carbs by the shift rod. I got it out and now I've got the powerhead loose and starting to lift out. But it feels like maybe it's catching on something? I can pry it up about an inch and thats it. Is it not releasing the drive shaft? I don't want to damage anything. Do I need to drop the lower unit?
 
Well I got the powerhead off. There was a black tube running up from the lower unit. I didn't see where it could connect to anything. But I think I broke it when lifting the powerhead off. Anybody know it is?

Also, should there be gasket where the powerhead and adapter plate sit on the middle? I didnt see one. It wont let me upload pictures for some reason.
 
Also I could see the water tube and grommet was all jacked up. Wasn't making a solid connection with the block. My initial problem was steam coming out of the tell tale due to lack of water. I ordered. a new grommet and seal
 
You need 5 posts to add pics.
There's a gasket on one part but not the other. Use silicone where there's no gasket.
Find the parts diagram and it will show you where the gasket goes.
justin12747 said:
Well I got the powerhead off. There was a black tube running up from the lower unit. I didn't see where it could connect to anything. But I think I broke it when lifting the powerhead off. Anybody know it is?

Also, should there be gasket where the powerhead and adapter plate sit on the middle? I didnt see one. It wont let me upload pictures for some reason.
Click to expand...
 
The black tube is an equalizer tube. Should be 2 of them.
They go in the back of the rear cover, they fit in 2 holes and keep the water at a certain level.
Again find the parts diagram and find where the tubes are. #25
In the back/ bottom of #10 is 2 holes that's where they go.
1716195443087.png
 
Jerryjerry05 said:
The black tube is an equalizer tube. Should be 2 of them.
They go in the back of the rear cover, they fit in 2 holes and keep the water at a certain level.
Again find the parts diagram and find where the tubes are. #25
In the back/ bottom of #10 is 2 holes that's where they go.
View attachment 32573
Click to expand...
Thanks @Jerryjerry05 . I got this part ordered and with any luck I'll be putting everything back together on Thursday.
 
Got the watertube re-installed. Had to drop the lower unit and pull the tube completely out, then slid on grommet and seal and reinstated tube from the top down
 
Well I got a new spacer plate gasket installed. As well as the equalizer tube that I broke when removing the powerhead. Im ready to put the powerhead back on. Looks like I'll be buying an engine hoist from harbor freight. I heard they have a good return policy.

QUESTION: no way I can get a torque wrench on all of those powerhead bolts. No room. Manual says to torque bolts to 270 in. Lbs. When I took them off, they weren't super tight but they took some effort to remove. Should I guess at it?
 
Thank you Jerry. I got the powerhead back on and I'm putting everything back together now. Carb adjustments, etc. The neutral interlock switch broke at one of the terminals. I have another one on order and will be here sunday. I'm dying to get this boat in the water to test it so I'm wondering if I can just bypass the switch but connecting the 2 wires that go to the neutral interlock switch and bypassing the switch altogether temporarily?
 
Jerryjerry05 said:
Tight will be good enough. Your right no way the wrench will fit.
Click to expand...
I put everything back together and took the boat to the launch. When I went to start it, it cranked a few times and then the starter was making a grinding noise. The bendix is just bouncing around and it makes a buzzing noise but no spins. This is quite a coincidence. Never had any problems with it before. Do you think I could've messed something up on the powerhead install that would cause this? I hope i didn't bend the crankshaft or something. I rotated the flywheel a little bit and the powerhead slid right down into place.
 
Also, motor sounded like it wanted to start... but it wouldn't. Maybe starter going bad and not spinning fast enough or did I mess up the timing by rotating the flywheel to get the powerhead back on?
 
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