1978 Spirit/Suzuki 25hp Outboard Water in Lower Unit

[jrdamien]

Hey all. Long time reader and I just signed up to seek help with this '78 Spirit motor. I am getting enough water in the lower unit to turn about 1/4 of the oil to mud. I have replaced everything for which there is a replacement part. What I have not yet replaced is the spaghetti seal and I now need to drop the lower unit to measure the diameter of the groove.

Can I just use some o-ring stock of the approximate diameter for this or is there a better/different method of doing this?

Knowing that some of the replacement parts just can no longer be gotten, how safe or unsafe is it to run this motor with a small leak if I keep gear oil changed and topped off?

Any advice would really be appreciated.

 

[robert graham]

Double check your prop shaft seal....maybe an o- ring would work for a replacement for " spaghetti" seal....I'm not familiar with that term. I've owned old motors that leaked lower units for various reasons, so I just checked/drained/refilled with fresh oil on a regular basis....of course salt water is much worse than fresh water...

 

[jrdamien]

Double check your prop shaft seal....maybe an o- ring would work for a replacement for " spaghetti" seal....I'm not familiar with that term. I've owned old motors that leaked lower units for various reasons, so I just checked/drained/refilled with fresh oil on a regular basis....of course salt water is much worse than fresh water...

Thanks. Yes, several parts no longer being available I think I'll just eat the cost and keep the oil changed and filled.

 

[robert graham]

Yep, one old motor I had that leaked turned out to be a slightly bent prop shaft and caused water to enter that seal while the shaft was turning....

 

[99yam40]

maybe you were talking about a rope seal.
there are many sizes of the rope packing available still

 

[robert graham]

Yep, they make the rope packing out of a white Teflon material....in a variety of sizes, if that's what we're talking about here...

 

[flyingscott]

Look at the rope seal omc used for there lower units.

 

[jrdamien]

Yep, one old motor I had that leaked turned out to be a slightly bent prop shaft and caused water to enter that seal while the shaft was turning....

Turns out it's a hairline crack in the very bottom of the LU. Literally hairline. Almost impossible to see or feel. Do I get this welded? How to fix?

 

[robert graham]

A good welder can run a bead of aluminum right on that hairline crack....better remove the paint from the area of the crack so you can see it better...You'll need to repaint after welding anyway.....It would be best to remove lower unit from motor to take to the welder. Depending on the location of the crack, the welding could be a good repair....I have an old motor now that has a welded crack many years ago and it still is good to go!