thrust washer, losing thrust question

[jpolitsch]

I recently bought a pontoon with a '98 Johnson 115 on it. This is my first outboard engine, I owned a inboard/outboard for 8 yrs. The engine worked fine the first 3-4 times out. Then, it started losing thrust at certain times. The first time we noticed it losing thrust was when we turned at a fairly high speed. Then, next time out it lost thrust when pulling 3 kids on 2 tubes. It happened quite a bit while pulling the tubes. Then, as we were cruising back to the dock, it seemed fine.

I think the problem is the thrust washer. Is this a thrust washer problem? Can the thrust washer wear out? or is it coming loose and the nut just needs tightening? I just need to know what to look for and how to tell what the problem is since I've never worked on an outboard before. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Jeff

[boats.net]

Verify that the propeller is not blowing out. You could have spun the hub.

[jpolitsch]

I took the prop off and everything to me looks fine. How do I know if the prop is blowing out? what do i look for? Any help is appreciated. Thanks, Jeff

[boats.net]

The propeller blowing out is when the propeller sucks air, this can happen from the motor not sitting low enough in the water (engine mounted in wrong hole). Turning to sharp.

[jpolitsch]

Ok, gotcha. Maybe we had it trimmed up too much and I also won't turn so sharp. Thanks for the help. that makes me feel better that's it's not a motor issue....or hopefully not a motor issue.