97 Evinrude 50 - Suspect Lower Unit Issues

[glengold]

Halfway through our fishing trip yesterday the motor started making a clunking sound when given gas in gear. Didn't appear to happen in reverse. Approx. 2 clunks a second that was independent of the RPM's it was turning. It would definitely get louder the faster we'd go so it was a long idle back to the ramp. Didn't hear the sound at idle. Today I drained the lower unit oil and there are pieces of metal large enough to be felt between my fingers. I'm taking the lower unit off now. I'm guessing that there are some chewed up gears in the lower unit I will have to replace. Is there a kit for repairing the lower unit yourself?? Has anyone ever done this? If so, please tell me its not too big a pain!

 

[whalerfreak22]

Re: 97 Evinrude 50 - Suspect Lower Unit Issues

i would suggest looking for a parts motor it will save you lots of $$$$$.your clutch dog is stripping itself so yes your lower unit is bad there are very cheap parts motors on craigslist.org.

 

[mikesea]

Re: 97 Evinrude 50 - Suspect Lower Unit Issues

Unfortunatly,those engines have a weakness in the lowerunit.Used ones are big bucks,more than the motor is worth.I receintly posetd to a couple guys about those problems.One guy happens to have a blown powerhead .I suggested he sell his lowerunit and put $ toward a different engine.Sorry about that .But there have benn many blown up 2 cylinders.I have worked on some ,and 10 yrs ago ,they were too costly to repair.If your mechanical,you might want to tacke it yourself,but ,the parts dont come cheap.You will need a complets set of gears ,and seal kit,forward gear and pinion gear set is $310 clutchdog $97 reverse$213,and new lowerunit is over $3000 from BRP the company that bought OMC

 

[glengold]

Re: 97 Evinrude 50 - Suspect Lower Unit Issues

Thanks for the input. I had browsed ebay and evinrudeparts looking for rebuild kits/gears. several hundred dollars at least. I do all my own maintenance on all my vehicles so I'm hoping i can tackle this as well. Since the thud was only happening in forward isn't it possible that its only that one set of gears? Additionally I am now having trouble finding the model number so I can get the repair manual. Are lower units the same for all 50's in 1997. The guy i bought the boat from said the motor was a '97 so thats all I'm going on!

 

[mikesea]

Re: 97 Evinrude 50 - Suspect Lower Unit Issues

the pinion and forward must be changed as sets,thats why they are sold that way,if the drive gears ,frd or rev is gone,the clutchdog is most likely too,as for used,the 48 ,50 and 55 2cyl engine in those time yrs are interchanageable,BUT,make absolutly sure you get it right,the exact yr interchange I dont know.EBAY has a couple ,or had ,rebuilders that had some compatability charts in their ads.you may also get some info on IBOAT,you can go to the Iboat store ,under engines you can find lowerunit suppliers.II believe there were changes in the 80's as to compatability.

 

[mikesea]

Re: 97 Evinrude 50 - Suspect Lower Unit Issues

not sure if this will help,maybe you can touch base with this guy ,dont know if his yr will work ,but ,worth a shot.he posted here about a blown crankshaft a few days ago.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=401718

 

[glengold]

Re: 97 Evinrude 50 - Suspect Lower Unit Issues

thanks mike, I've seen some on ebay and craigslist but they look like crap, I worry that they'll break on me sooner than if I did it myself. I hope that if i fix it myself it shouldn't have this problem for another 13 years. Did u mean that the powerheads blow-up on these 50's regularly? I purchased this boat/motor under the impression that these smaller evinrudes run forever!!! I have read that certain brand repair manuals are garbage and that special tools will be needed for the lower unit repair. Any ideas/suggestions?

 

[bktheking]

Re: 97 Evinrude 50 - Suspect Lower Unit Issues

Try Dave Scott at Aim Outboard Recyclers here in Ottawa. He bought a marina and got a pile of OMC lower units with the purchase, who knows, worth a shot.
As far as blowing up, any and all outboards can and will blow up if not properly maintained, OMC's are pretty bulletproof but nothing is 100%.