TOPIC: help for a friend

ok i have a buddy he has gone out and bought a couple of good deals and now he has a 70 hp johnson outboard that somehow lost the gear lube he was out on the newer pontoon and the motor started to whine and loose power he brought it back home and removed the bottom plug not much came out a little metal i dont know what kind of metal . we were trying to find a motor nothing fancy just something to move the pontoon around the lake . so we started to take the foot apart and there was an offer of another lower unit 250.00 good shape new impeller and go. but he didnt want to spend the money and then still have a bad engine. the mechanic told him to check the plugs to make sure something on the top half wasn't messed up. i think the lower unit is bad (the whine) not up in the top end. the question i have for everyone here is when the foot is dry the whine would be the first thing to point me to the bottom half of the motor , right????? he said it lost power. if the gears were ripping apart the propeller would start slipping right.???? er no power. so we put the lower unit back together hes going to fill it with oil and head back out Saturday. when it does the same thing what could be the problem ..????? please help he is trying to save some money and is digging the hole and its filling with what else water.
note: the reverse gear looked intact. the forward gear showed wear i dont know if it is from years of use or just a day without gear oil you all tell me

I am no expert.... But motors don't whine... they thunk blow smoke then quit. I had a 1985 new S-10 chevy Standard Transmission, that had Dextron II Trans. fluid. (which I didn't know was the fluid of choice that was in a standard transmission at that point at that time ), it was leaving dollar size drips for weeks... thought it was a auto trans. at work, so thought nothing about it ?
Then one day I was driving down the road, and heard the whine. then when I stopped for a light ? the trans. quit, and I was done ! Trans was bone dry !!! I'm thinking something other than motor ? Someone please correct me ?

He most likely spin the upper bearing on the driveshaft, just below the water pump.

ok thank you i will have him check it. we took the bolts out of that round cap. but it wont come out like the the one in the video.

billy

ok i wanted to give a update on the buddy's motor.
took it out again Saturday and with reserve i went along , we unloaded the boat and he backed it out and did a 360 in front of the dock picked us up and we took off didn't think about going out in the middle of the lake i told him the census of the group about running the foot dry. it was doing ok for a few minutes then it stopped. turned over and started and stopped again then it wouldn't turn over. as if the battery was dead. but i knew better but i didnt say anything. he took the little trolling motor but it was straining on the pontoon we finally looked desperate trying to paddle a pontoon and a guy on the beach came over and asked if we needed help. we got towed back in and yesterday they took the foot off and found out the housing around the top shaft bearing was wallowed out where the bearing had froze and started spinning in the housing the bearing was all in the foot oil. so that one is scrap. he is going to call and see if the one at the dealer is still for sale. add a water pump and throw that one on. so who ever mentioned about the top shaft bearing nailed it. i hope i can get him the information next time before we are stranded.

thanks billy