How hard is it for a Novice to fix the lower unit??

[jailermac]

I have 92 Evinrude 48SPL. It runs fine while pumping water through it from a hose, but won't stay going when in a lake. I realize that it is due the fact that the hose if forcing water through, where in the lake the water is not forced into the motor. I have had it checked and there is nothing mechanically wrong with the motor. He said that it needed a tune up, and also that there was water in the lower unit oil, which says the seal and oil has to be replaced. He also said that it is problably a impeller/waterpump problem, why the motor shuts down because the water is not being pulled into the motor. He gave me an estimate of $540 to do a tune up, reseal the lower unit and replace the impeller/waterpump. I bought a repair manual and have looked at it and it doesn't seem too hard to do, but am not sure. I think that the steps I need to take are to drain the oil, remove the lower unit(making sure I don't bend the drive shaft), replace the impeller/waterpump, and then seal it all back together, then put it back together on the motor, then put in new lower unit oil, then replace the plugs with the right plugs for that motor, and finally fine tune it. Are those the right steps and how hard is it actually to do???

 

[Skyhigh]

Re: How hard is it for a Novice to fix the lower unit??

I did it, and if I can do it you can do it. Just take your time and do it right. I changed all my seals and water pump for about $65.00.

 

[steelespike]

Re: How hard is it for a Novice to fix the lower unit??

Did you mean it wont run on the lake or it wont pump water on the lake?<br /> If it wont run on the lake it is usually a fuel supply problem and requires a clean check<br />and repair of the fuel system from tank to carb.<br /> (with special attention to cleaning).<br /> The repair is straight forward for the mechanically inclined.Dont attempt it without a manual.You can get one here or amazon.com,ebay<br /> repairmanual.com NAPA auto parts,and sometimes the library.

 

[jailermac]

Re: How hard is it for a Novice to fix the lower unit??

I have a manual, wouldn't even consider doing it without one. What I mean by won't run on the lake is that it cranks up but then shuts down. It wouldn't run for longer than a minute or two. Yet when I had a hose attached forcing water in, it would run forever. And yes, I checked all fuel line problems, cleaned the gas tank and put new gas in, made sure it was the right mixture, even put in an in-line fuel filter, and disconnected the fuel line and made sure it was clean with no debrie(sp?) or cracks. So I think it is shuting down due to water not pumping through the motor and keeping it cool.

 

[DBLD]

Re: How hard is it for a Novice to fix the lower unit??

When you run it on the lake - is a stream of water coming out of the tell tale? If not, then water is definitely not getting pumped through the cooling passages and you not try to run it at all if that is the case. You could severly damage the powerhead.