Small hole in the leg?

[powderhoundbrr]

I am new to the forum and I have an approximately 1978 Evinrude 60. I just got into boating but I am a motor guy as I have sleds, motorbikes, jeeps and the like so I can fix stuff and figure things out. But I have a quick question for the experts on the forums here.

I have used the motor about 4 times and the last time I noticed a small hole on the front of the leg about halfway down. It seems to be leaking oil and water and I can only assume that this is the leg oil? Anyway the hole is very small and symmetrical so I am wondering if there is a plug or something that fell out. Other than this small hole the motor runs great.

Do I need to worry about this as it seems that water would get in the leg which I can only assume would be bad? If so I am thinking I should change the oil in the leg but not having done this before could someone recommend a good spot to fins some nice concise instructions. I am planning a fishing trip with some buddies this weekend coming up so I would like to get it up and running by then.

Feedback would be very appreciated.

 

[HybridMX6]

Re: Small hole in the leg?

I believe that is just an extra drain for the water to come out of. Does the residue coming out smell like fuel?
I have a small hole like that and water/exhaust residue come out of mine. I don't know the tech term for that hole, but I'm pretty sure it's the same as mine, and is nothing to worry about. The only holes you need to worry about are on the side of the lower, and should have a slotted screwdriver head on them. There is an upper one and a lower one, and are the drain/fill holes.
And just a note, if you remove one, you will need to replace the nylon washer as it's a maintenance item and should not be reused.

 

[powderhoundbrr]

Re: Small hole in the leg?

Yes it does smell like fuel and it is an oily sort of sludge texture. It is a weird little hole and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it was just a drain hole. Thanks for your help. I will keep an eye on it and report back.

 

[F_R]

Re: Small hole in the leg?

Yes it does smell like fuel and it is an oily sort of sludge texture. It is a weird little hole and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it was just a drain hole. Thanks for your help. I will keep an eye on it and report back.

Not meaning to be a smarty, but you are one of the hundreds of people that ask the same question. There are many drain holes in various places on various motors. They all serve the same function: to drain water so it doesn't stand in some internal cavity. They are put ther intentinally, so don't try to second-guess the engineers that designed it.

On to the oil, sludge, goop, whatever. That is normal too and comes with a two stroke engine. It is the gas and oil that you put in the tank. Not all of it gets burned, and the rest goes out the exhaust to worry you to death. So don't worry. If you want to be a bit more responsible, use 100% synthetic TCW-3 outboard oil. It's bio-degradeable. So is regular oil, but nobody will believe you on that.

 

[R.Johnson]

Re: Small hole in the leg?

FR: Did they recommend synthetic oil in 78? Be careful when recommending lube's here.

 

[wilde1j]

Re: Small hole in the leg?

No old motors will suffer from TWC-3 oil. The crummy 30 wt oils that were used way back just produced lots of smoke and carbon.