water in trolling motor

[chuckwagon]

I tore apart my minn kota bow mount last night and found a burnt up melted wire running through the shaft ... the motor quit on me while fishing so I ripped er down. While taking apart the lower unit, I pulled the long bolts out that holds everything from behind the prop to the nose cone together. When I pulled the first one, water poured out the hole (enough to fill the entire lower unit). My question is ... this area should be sealed correct? there should not be any water getting in there? I am guessing a seal or o ring is gone or in really bad condition. I am new to trolling motors so any imput would be very helpful. Thank you in advance.

[TruthWalleyes]

Yes that should be sealed, and the motor is likely burnt out now. Minnkota has good customer service, there is a service shop right in Mankato-MN that can help you.

Here's a link that will show you the breakdown of parts.

Parts

[chuckwagon]

Thanks truth .... I re wired the motor and it actually still works. Just have track down a seal or o ring .... Would marine cylicone work fine too? Or that rbk gasket maker work? Not sure of the name of it

[bobbymalone]

Thanks truth .... I re wired the motor and it actually still works. Just have track down a seal or o ring .... Would marine cylicone work fine too? Or that rbk gasket maker work? Not sure of the name of it

I would get the proper o-ring or seal rather than 1/2 butt a quick a fix. It's cheap but you might be out of commission for couple days tracking one down.

[TruthWalleyes]

Yeah i'm sure you could seal it up yourself, but a quick call to minnkota might give you the parts you need, in a few days or less.

Good Luck, Glad you got it working again!!

[chuckwagon]

ha ... yeah I should probably do it the rite way! Just trying to get back in action to quick.

[jwmiller33]

I had the same issue on my Minn Kota about 2 years ago. A quick call to their customer service line and I had the complete seal kit sent to me (as well as a complete diagram of my specific trolling motor emailed to me so I knew how everything went together) for under $10. The seals were sitting on my door step a couple days later and I was back on the water a few days after that. The only thing is, it can be difficult to put the motor back together unless you know exactly what you are doing. I see you are in Chaska. I would recommend ordering the seal kit yourself and then bringing it into Motor Clinic in Bloomington. They can put it back together correctly for you and have it tested in a water tank to make sure you fixed the issue. It is very cheap to have done and gives you peace of mind that the fix was done 100% correctly. If you ever fish in below freezing temps (late late fall), you will quickly find out if you have a seal issue or not. The water froze in my lower unit and I was unable to use my trolling motor at all. Lesson learned. Always remove line from the prop ASAP if you get it tangled in there.

[chuckwagon]

Thank you for the fast information on my post guys .... Seal and o ring kit ordered and is on its way. Hopefully case closed and back to fishing soon. I will be checking into motor clinic as well jimmy. Thanks again

[fishhuntwork]

I replaced my seals a few weeks ago a couple of tips. Make sure you have the center tube on the right way, 180 degrees will make it run backwards. There is a small almost invisible line on the tube, line it up with the skeg on your motor. Also the stator inside the motor, make sure the ends are clean, take some steel wool or a wire wheel and clean it until you can see the copper color. I would agree that motor clinic in bloomington is very good, give them a call if you have any problems. They are more than happy to help you out.