I did something stupid

[Bullie]

Or, more stupid than is usual. I recently purchased an Evinrude 6012E. I got a pretty good deal on it at $80 I thought. It needs paint badly on the leg and lower engine and the cowl will need some fiberglass work. I polished and set the points, installed a carb kit, a new impeller, removed and repaced the ORIGINAL spark plugs, removed the prop to find that there was no shear pin, etc. Anyway, a friend showed up and in my haste to show him my little find I dropped it in the tank and started it up, the bad part is that I had not replaced the LU gear oil or the plugs and washers. I ran it about 4 or 5 minutes only cycling into forward and reverse a couple of times.

How bad did I screw up and what do I need to do?

I was toying with the idea of spraying some WD-40 into the LU but decided against that. I am now thinking about filling it up with gear lube as normal, running it a little while and then draining it again. What do you guys think?

 

[GA_Boater]

Fill it up, run at idle some and drain it. Repeat if the lube has water in it.

 

[gm280]

Did you verify any oil in the foot at all? I would not run it again until you check the foot oil first. If there was water or even nothing in the foot, then you may be in for a totally rebuild. But if there was oil, even low oil, then you are probably okay. But check first to see and don't run the engine until you do. Lower foot parts can get real expensive. JMHO!

 

[GA_Boater]

Bullie can't hurt it any more than it is if it was run dry.

 

[Bullie]

I had drained the foot oil before replacing the impeller. I did not include that in my original post and it does make the whole issue confusing. There had been oil in it. I just hadn't refilled it or even replaced the drain plugs before dropping it in the tank. Maybe if it hadn't been dark I would have noticed it before I plopped it down in the water and started it.

I let it sit for about 30 minutes to drain as completely as it would, then I refilled the LU lube and installed new washers on the plugs. I put it back in the tank and left it running for a few minutes at idle like GA_Boater suggested.

 

[Bullie]

Letting the LU drain again. It had some water in it of course, but hopefully not long enough to do much damage.

 

[oldboat1]

so when you let it drain after that dry run, was there any oil in your water?

actually, being a little serious. There was probably more oil in there than you thought. Additionally, I don't see it any differently than having a gearcase full of water because of a leaking seal -- and probably better than the usual situation, because the water wasn't in there rusting gears for a couple of years.

I would finish draining the fresh oil, then fill it up again -- just check it periodically, and change it out again if any water present. Thing is, won't really know if you need to reseal it -- unless you know for sure there was no water in there to start with. Probably should go ahead and do a pressure and vacuum test, and reseal if called for.

Maybe there is something special used to displace water from gear cases before resealing (I'm not aware of that, but others here would know.) Also, check your model number. Thinking you have a 6hp '70 -- that right?

 

[Bullie]

I think it is a 71. But, yes. A 6 hp of that vintage. I had that model number pulled up on the computer and assumed it was the right one.

I imagine I washed most of the oil out. I had just filled my barrel and there is some oil there, so I didn't actually lose it. I was planning on lake testing it tomorrow, I think I will let it drain overnight then fill the LU again in the morning and give it a test run and dial the carb in. I will drain and refill it again when I get back home.

 

[GA_Boater]

You're probably gonna be ok.

 

[kodibass]

+1 GA boater, fill her up with good 80-90 wt & giver he a good run out on the water,, bet she does just fine...

 

[oldboat1]

If one that you are fixing for somebody, or selling it, probably better to just do a pressure and vacuum test and go from there. Easy to test it, and can't tell much at the moment from the oil (unless you remember what it looked like when first drained). If hanging onto it for use, I would just run it and check the l.u. now and then. Test it when you are up to messing with it, like you might do with any new find. JMO.

 

[steelespike]

I don't think 4 or 5 minutes with no oil and esentually no strain would cause any problems.
With no plugs put back in; the water would both lube and cool the the parts under those conditions.