Evinrude Sportwin 1962 10HP - Water in Lower Gear Unit Oil

[edd_barker]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and to outboard motors, having bought my Evinrude for ?1 last year. She runs like a dream, but when I checked the lower gear unit oil today ( I changed it last month), a fair amount of water (about 10% of the oil that came after) ran out of the drain plug before the oil came out, which even I can tell is a BAD THING.

When the oil came it looked in pretty good condition, and I can't see any oil leaking out of seals, joints etc when the motor is off the boat. Neither of the drain/fill plugs had any sort of washer or seal in them, so I was going to put some rubber O-rings in there, but I wanted to ask if it was likely that the water had managed to get in just through those two plugs, or do I need to replace all the LGU seals with the kit available on iboats? Pretty nervous about this as I've never taken an outboard to bits before and she is my pride and joy.

Will I be ok for what remains of the British summer if I drain the water each time and put more oil in the top? That'll probably be 10-20 hours running time tops.

Many thanks, Edd

 

[wilde1j]

Re: Evinrude Sportwin 1962 10HP - Water in Lower Gear Unit Oil

Maybe ... depends on the rate of leak. BTW, I've never seen drain/fill plugs w/o a gasket. Most of the older motors use a nylon seal washer. I would try that first, then go on if still leaking.

If you pressurize the LU (12 to 15 psig max), you can easily find which seal is leaking.

 

[lindy46]

Re: Evinrude Sportwin 1962 10HP - Water in Lower Gear Unit Oil

Most likely the water got in through the drain and vent plugs. Get the proper washers/gaskets from a Johnnyrude dealer. They're cheap and may solve your problem.

 

[Vic.S]

Re: Evinrude Sportwin 1962 10HP - Water in Lower Gear Unit Oil

Hi Edd

Boating in a British summer ??? You are on to a loser there. I have been trying to do that for somewhat more than 30 years!

Interestingly the parts catalog does not show the sealing sealing washers separately for your engine but the screws are the same part number as many ( most in fact) other OMC engines so the standard nylon washers should fit (part number 311598)

I'd not recommend O rings although some engines do use O rings. There is a slightly different design screw with a recess in the underside of the head which is used for O rings.

If you have no convenient dealer Oakley Marine (aka Outboards Direct) in Brighton and Willmarine in Kingsbridge, Devon are two I have specifically made a note of.

Make sure the old washers are not simply stuck in the holes.

 

[wilde1j]

Re: Evinrude Sportwin 1962 10HP - Water in Lower Gear Unit Oil

Vic, it wouldn't be the UK weather is bad?

 

[edd_barker]

Re: Evinrude Sportwin 1962 10HP - Water in Lower Gear Unit Oil

Thanks to everyone for the quick replies!

I have Chas Newens marine near me in Putney, so I'll try there for the seals. They're an evinrude dealer so fingers crossed.

Jim, I read about pressurising the LU on several other forums, but I wasn't sure of the best way of doing it? I have a compressor but the only attachments I have are for car/bike tyres, or maybe an airbed. Is there a specific nozzle as such available?

Thanks again, any advice much appreciated

Edd

 

[edd_barker]

Re: Evinrude Sportwin 1962 10HP - Water in Lower Gear Unit Oil

And no, the UK weather is perfect, just as you get too hot in all that sunshine, a nice sharp shower cools you off. lovely in an open dinghy

 

[wilde1j]

Re: Evinrude Sportwin 1962 10HP - Water in Lower Gear Unit Oil

Thanks to everyone for the quick replies!

I have Chas Newens marine near me in Putney, so I'll try there for the seals. They're an evinrude dealer so fingers crossed.

Jim, I read about pressurising the LU on several other forums, but I wasn't sure of the best way of doing it? I have a compressor but the only attachments I have are for car/bike tyres, or maybe an airbed. Is there a specific nozzle as such available?

Thanks again, any advice much appreciated

Edd

I made an adapter years ago, But I've seen LU testers on Ebay from time to time.

 

[twocyclemania]

Re: Evinrude Sportwin 1962 10HP - Water in Lower Gear Unit Oil

I've read up on this and from what I can gather the motors of that era, probably due to age, have a tendency to leak a little. In other words you're going to get a little water in the lower unit. The hassle of replacing seals may be outweighed by an occasional change of lower unit oil; simple and cheap. I run a number of motors from that era and I just check them on occasion and change the lower oil once in a while. I've never had a problem. Nobody wants water in the lower unit, especially salt but the cost and hassle of doing a lower unit seal job may be outweighed by the occasional change of oil. There are a number of experts at this site and I'd be interested to hear what they have to say as I respect their opinion and the help they've given me. My take: just use it and have fun with an eye on an occasional change.

 

[lindy46]

Re: Evinrude Sportwin 1962 10HP - Water in Lower Gear Unit Oil

As I understand it, the seals on the earlier motors were supposed to keep the gear oil from leaking out. That doesn't necessarily mean they will keep all water from intruding. I have had 50's motors where I replaced all the seals and pressure tested the lower unit OK, but after running the oil became slightly milky. Perhaps a vacuum test would be more appropriate. Slight milkiness probably won't cause problems if you change the oil regularly. That is what the proper gear oil is designed to do: emulsify the water into the oil. But if you see un-emulsified water draining from the lower unit shortly after running the motor, then the seals need attention.

 

[edd_barker]

Re: Evinrude Sportwin 1962 10HP - Water in Lower Gear Unit Oil

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies and advice.

My motor didn't have any nylon washers for the LU oil drain/fill plugs. I fitted those but no joy, I still get an amount of clean water rushing out the drain plug when I take it off, probably 1-20ml.

So I guess my only option is a lower unit rebuild?

 

[ezeke]

Re: Evinrude Sportwin 1962 10HP - Water in Lower Gear Unit Oil

It's not that hard to rebuild and reseal the gearcase. You should try to purchase a seal kit and sealer before you start.

The drain and vent plugs used in the gearcase may differ; some use neoprene o-rings and some use nylon seals; look at the thumbnail to see which applies.

Nylon absorbs water and can expand by as much as 30% in use. This makes it a tight seal but also sometimes makes it very difficult to remove the screws. It also makes it necessary to replace rather than reuse the seals.