water in lower unit

[shootindave]

Well...... I have had numerous issues with my 70' Evinrude 25hp this year. NOTE all of my previous posts.... lol. I decided to take her off the boat and do a full engine check even before duck season is over. I threw on a 59' 10hp Sea King to get me by (though much slower).

Anywho...... when I drained the lower unit oil a steady stream of water came out for a second or so..... then came the oil. The oil was a dark grey color and I did not observe any metal flakes in it. I am praying the lower isnt screwed.

Do I need to reseal the lower, what else should I do.

If I buy the manual will it have all the info I need?

- Dave

 

[5150abf]

Re: water in lower unit

No you shouldn't be too screwed, sounds like you caught it in time. lower oil is designed to deal with water intrusion, after the oil sits for awhile it seperates and the water comes out first.

Get a manual and a seal kit and you should be good to go, don't forget new seals for your drain screws.

 

[banhenry]

Re: water in lower unit

It is not good to reuse the filler screw washers. They crack and cause great grief. If the washers in your case have been used more than once, I'd suggest just changing to new washers and see what happens. Give the unit a few trips and recheck.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: water in lower unit

Agreed, it could be as simple as the seals on the drain screws that have failed. That is a cheap and cheerful fix. Did you replace them last time you changed the lower unit oil or is this your first time with this motor ??
Get an OEM manual for your motor. Worth every penny.

 

[ENSIGN]

Re: water in lower unit

Drain and pressure test the drive it could be any one of the seals or gaskets

 

[shootindave]

Re: water in lower unit

This is my first year with this motor, so there are many unknowns.

How hard is it to just switch out all the seals? I have my other motor on it, so I have all the time I need to work on it to make sure its done right.

I'll pick up a manual if the shop has one.

- Dave

 

[asdasc]

Re: water in lower unit

My 18hp is pretty much the same lower unit, I think. The first time I did it, it took a couple days because I had some issues with a stuck prop shaft seal and struggled with the correct tools to remove the shift shaft bushing/seal.

Now that I have done it successfully, I think I could do it again in a couple hours, including pulling the lower unit from the motor and putting it back on. Check out this link to give you some idea on what you are getting into. I would do it again in a heartbeat if I was having issues with mine.

Lower Unit Seal Replacement Experience

 

[wilde1j]

Re: water in lower unit

This is my first year with this motor, so there are many unknowns.

How hard is it to just switch out all the seals? I have my other motor on it, so I have all the time I need to work on it to make sure its done right.

I'll pick up a manual if the shop has one.

- Dave

Very unlikely a shop would have an OEM manual for a 40 year old motor, other than Clymer and Seloc, which are junk in my opinion. Get an OEM book from outboardbooks.com or look on Fleabay for one. The are three seals : propshaft (usually actually two seals), drive shaft and shift shaft, plus the drain/fill screw gaskets and a spaghetti seal if you have a split half gearcase. Not a hard job, but requires attention to detail to get it right.