TOPIC: 1974 AMF Crestliner

Hi. Glad to be here. We just got a 1974 AMF Crestliner 15’ in pretty good shape.
The original Johnson Triumph 70 sounds good and looks gently used.
I’m sure I’m going to have lots of questions in the future and I have enjoyed and found it super helpful the recent forum about the same Crestliner boat and getting his motor running well.
First question. Old owners friend was a mechanic and removed the thermostat and said “he didn’t really need it in Florida “. Boat just came from A life in Michigan U.P. and now on Pine Island, Bokeelia Florida.
Looks all original so far. Gonna dive into cleaning it now.
Was also going to put a stabilizer fin on the outboard to start.
I read about replacing the water pump impeller.
And old owner said he had the carbs redone last year and it runs great. We will see soon.
Thanks in advance.
I also have a car called a Glassic. All fiberglass with a red gel coat. It’s a 1966 to look like a 1929 Model A Phaeton and it sits on a International Scout frame and engine. Factory made in Palm Springs Florida !
So I’m a bonafide fiberglass nut.

Welcome and good luck with all of your plans. Great advice here by others. I don’t have experience with the motor fins, but hopefully the experts with experience can help you. Seems I had read some like them and some have caused handling problems for others. Good luck with research before you buy one and drill holes.

Thanks ! Good advice. Think I’ll try it out before adding the stabilizer fins. Then I’ll know before and after handling etc. We will be boating in shallow waters a lot off Pine Island Florida so Was hoping it would help with That. Just gotta find out about the thermostat first.
Thanks again

I am thinking if you re-post your Johnson motor questions under the J E G O forum which stands for Johnson Evinrude Gale Other, you will get expert answers from the Johnson people since they may check that forum on engines. I have read some posts in the past that has talked about the thermostat subject. You might even enter thermostat in a search and it may bring up some good past information.

Welcome aboard, glad your here. So first things first, I and many others are not fans of the fins. If the motor is fit correctly to the hull you shouldn't need one. Basically if the built in "fin" on the lower unit it is lined up at the bottom of the hull, then you should be good. If it's not it's not a really big deal , your just not at your optimum set up for speed. If your just looking to cruise around then you should be fine. The transom measurement decides if you need a long shaft or short shaft motor. Post some pics, we like pics.

You can get thermostat parts at marineengine.com. If you put yuor model number of the motor into the search it will bring up all the parts available for your motor. It should be on the plate on the mounting bracket I believe. I'm not real knowledgable on the 70's motors.

Bob

Thanks. We took the boat out for a little test drive yesterday and it ran smoothly and handled nice. Steering is a little stiff so I'll grease it up. thanks on the suggestion where to get parts guess I better get a thermostat and put it in.
I messed up at first and said it was a Johnson but it's an Evinrude triumph 70 outboard motor.
Flushed it last night with fresh water and this morning it's leaking a little grease out of the prop. Is this a problem or just cause the first time running in a while ?

No difference between Johnson & Evinrude except color.
Install the new t-stat & gasket.

Could be 2 things coming out of the prop... you can get a little dark dripping of water mixed with exhaust OR it could be gear lube from a leaky seal. If they are similar to some other outboards, I would loosen the lower gear lube screw and remove for just a second and see if the lube is milky white... which means water is getting in and you don’t want water in there.., better yet is to just completely drain it so you can insect it all for any milkiness and also check for any gritty metal gear wear. Refill with new fluid. Of course if your seal is leaking, you would want to get that replaced. While you are considering any motor work, if the water pump impeller hasn’t been changed, it is cheap insurance just to replace it so that you know it is ready to go. Just 2 cents. If you post motor questions on the JEGO forum, you may get more answers from experts. I am just a novice and not a mechanic... but learning more every day.

I'm late to the party as always. All advice above is good. Like Bob I'm not a fan of fins. First thing I always do is remove them from a used motor. Got three pair sitting on a shelf right now to give away.
Dr. Go is right. I would suspect after time on the water that the oil stuff coming from the prop is unburned fuel/oil mix. Just a part of the beast not to worry about. Is it a manual shift or electric? If it's an electric shift you need a special lower unit lube available at most dealers and even some box stores but to make sure it's OMC compatible with the electric lower. If it's a manual shifter you can use regular ol' 80/90 weight gear oil. If I remember correctly the thermostat is in the upper portion of the cylinder cover plate? Easy to replace but get new gaskets. Everything you will ever need will be at marineengine.com and very reasonable price, guaranteed to fit. That is a strong running fast motor will give you many years if maintained.
Here's a link similar to what you would need. Look up your model number to make sure.
www.marineengine.com/newparts/part_search.php?part_num=382385