'72 Evinrude 65HP LU milky oil--driveshaft?

[mike64]

I've had problems with water in my LU, so I changed the gaskets on the plugs and after taking the boat out 2 times I checked the oil again, and total milkshake. So I took my LU off today to see what's going on. A guy told me sometimes on older motors the driveshaft gets a groove worn on it where it meets the oil retaining seal, so even new seals won't keep water out. It looks like there is a groove on my driveshaft where it meets the seal (see pic).

Do I have any option other than replacing the driveshaft? Also, I'm having trouble removing that bearing housing-- I can get it to move from side to side a little but I can't get it off. Is there some trick to getting it off?

 

[mike64]

Re: '72 Evinrude 65HP LU milky oil--driveshaft?

Well, I figured out a good way to remove the bearing housing. I pumped air into the LU and it popped right off. So I removed it and as I was checking the seals on it, the bearing rollers all fell out.

So back to the store for new parts tomorrow.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: '72 Evinrude 65HP LU milky oil--driveshaft?

I don't know your engine at all but have heard that on some engines you can put a 2nd seal on top of the first one if there is enough room for it and thus it will seat on a better place on the driveshaft. Sometimes you have to get a thinner seal to do this but I believe they are available for some engines. Is there any way to do that on yours? Take a look.

 

[mike64]

Re: '72 Evinrude 65HP LU milky oil--driveshaft?

Thanks, Samo. There actually are two oil retaining seals in the bearing housing area (supposed to be two, according to the manual). I found a local boat store that has a lot of parts for old motors, and they're real helpful. Think I will take my whole LU in there tomorrow and see what they think.

The seals actually look like they're in decent shape. they held pressure well enough for the bearing housing to get pushed out when I pumped air in to one of the plug holes. The thrust bearing however, is not in good shape at all

 

[R.Johnson]

Re: '72 Evinrude 65HP LU milky oil--driveshaft?

Those bearing's should'nt fall out, check further before ordering any part's. That bearing cage went somewhere. That bearing retainer is certainly broken.

 

[mike64]

Re: '72 Evinrude 65HP LU milky oil--driveshaft?

I hope the bearing cage didn't come off and fall into the LU, but I'm thinking that it didn't. The whole bearing housing assembly seemed to come out intact. It was only when I was messing with it, checking the seals, that one bearing roller fell out, and that caused a domino effect.

But I will check the LU to make sure there's not a bearing cage hiding in there. Thanks R.Johnson.

 

[Lion hunter]

Re: '72 Evinrude 65HP LU milky oil--driveshaft?

Did you completely clean out the LU after the fix? Becuase of the emulsifers in LU oil it doesn't take much water to turn the oil to milk. And it takes several days to separate after it has been mixed. I have put mineral spirits in the LU through the top plugs until it came out clean. Just don't want you to put it all back together and have the same problem.

 

[mike64]

Re: '72 Evinrude 65HP LU milky oil--driveshaft?

Lion hunter, great tip, thanks! I wouldn't have thought that even residual water could cause the new oil to turn milky again.

 

[mike64]

Re: '72 Evinrude 65HP LU milky oil--driveshaft?

So it took a week to get the new bearing. The shop put the new driveshaft seals and bearing in the bearing housing for me for an extra $10, and I was happy to have one less thing for me to screw up.

So I put he LU back together over the 4th weekend. I put a little LU oil around the driveshaft seal and pumped air in. I saw a couple bubbles at first, but then the new seals seemed to "seat" themselves and no more bubbles. The LU seemed to hold pressure fine. I put a little marine trailer bearing grease around where the driveshaft and the seal meets to try to add a little extra water proofing before I put the water pump back on.

Putting the LU back on the motor was nerve wracking because on my first try the driveshaft spline wasn't lined up, so when I took the LU off again, the plastic guide sleeve had come off on the water pipe. It didn't stay on the pump. This meant that if I backed off just a little when I was putting the lu on, the guide would pop off the pump and would not be connected. so I actually thought of supergluing the plastic guide on the pump or something, until deciding that I just need to make sure I don't back off when putting the lu on. Had my wife turn the flywheel to get the spline in (hey that sounds kinda dirty )

No telltale on the '72 rude, so the only way I was going to know if the water tube was connected was to run it and see whether it overheated. Ran mineral spirits through till clear per Lionhunter's suggestion, added oil and crossed my fingers.

Because of a lot of stuff going on I wasn't able to get the boat out until last Thursday. Motor ran great. LU had forward AND reverse, so apparently I didn't break it. But...

I check the oil after, and total milkshake

I drained it, did another pressure test, and it held steady pressure for about 1/2 hour. think the slight groove on the driveshaft only causes a problem when it's turning. I don't have the money or the time to mess with it any more, so I'm just going to buy LU oil in bulk and change after every outing.

 

[mike64]

Re: '72 Evinrude 65HP LU milky oil--driveshaft?

Here's a follow up that's good news but kind of strange. Not asking any advice, just posting this in case it gives anyone else with lu problems any insight...

So like I said, after the fixes there was still water in the oil after one trip out. The oil looked like a chocolate milkshake. so I figured I'd just buy up several qts. of lu oil and change after every trip the rest of this season, to at least get a few weekends boating instead of working on the motor. Then next season I'll figure out if the motor is worth working on further. That's where I was at in my last post.

I take the family out on the boat this past weekend, have a nice time, did a pretty good amount of cruising around the lake. Get home, drain the oil expecting the ol' milkshake, but no sign of water whatsoever?! Clear dark brown, like black coffee.

So I don't know, maybe like Lionhunter said, there was still some residual water in the LU, or maybe I didn't have the drain plugs tightened enough that first time out after working on the LU. guess I'll take it out a few more times and check the oil again with fingers crossed