I just rebuilt the gearcase seal with a used gearcase cover and new gasket, rebuilt the water pump on a 7.5hp Johnson (1983). The gearcase cover is just a 3/4" thick plastic cover that seems to also have water flowing through it up into the water pump. The drive shaft drops straight through the gearcase cover.
I am concerned that this is not going to give as tight of a seal around the driveshaft as I'm going to want, but I am a rookie at outboards and would like your opinion. This motor is in decent shape but the driveshaft here seems to have some wear/pitting on it. It was definitely used mostly in saltwater. I do find some moderate buildup of salt crust here and there.
Anyhow, I replaced the gearcase cover and seal, as well as the two round driveshaft seals (which look like two bearings stacked on top of each other). But there seemed to be maybe a half-millimeter of slop--- it just doesn't seem to be a water-tight seal here. It looks to me like water for the pump will be flowing directly around the driveshaft here, and I fear that water will be dripping down into the gearcase.
I cannot spend another couple hundred on this motor to replace the driveshaft (I do have a spare parts motor but it's a long-shaft, so no good there). Any advice would be helpful here.
Should I run this motor in a freshwater lake for a while and dump the gearcase oil to see what's happening? I definitely WILL be using this motor in saltwater this season, and need some advice on how to care for this motor and make it last a few more years until we can afford something bigger and newer.
I am concerned that this is not going to give as tight of a seal around the driveshaft as I'm going to want, but I am a rookie at outboards and would like your opinion. This motor is in decent shape but the driveshaft here seems to have some wear/pitting on it. It was definitely used mostly in saltwater. I do find some moderate buildup of salt crust here and there.
Anyhow, I replaced the gearcase cover and seal, as well as the two round driveshaft seals (which look like two bearings stacked on top of each other). But there seemed to be maybe a half-millimeter of slop--- it just doesn't seem to be a water-tight seal here. It looks to me like water for the pump will be flowing directly around the driveshaft here, and I fear that water will be dripping down into the gearcase.
I cannot spend another couple hundred on this motor to replace the driveshaft (I do have a spare parts motor but it's a long-shaft, so no good there). Any advice would be helpful here.
Should I run this motor in a freshwater lake for a while and dump the gearcase oil to see what's happening? I definitely WILL be using this motor in saltwater this season, and need some advice on how to care for this motor and make it last a few more years until we can afford something bigger and newer.
