shift rod bushing o-ring - the rest of the story.........

[jtexas]

1979 rude 70.

removed shift rod cover - there was a remnant of what might once have been an o-ring coming out the bottom.

the advice from the manual: "Replace shift rod cover "O" ring." that's it.

So I got this fat little o-ring to go in this little hole and up into that groove somehow.

been wrestling it for awhile now....what's the trick?

please help, haven't been fishing since December and its killing me.......

thanks!

 

[kennyk]

Re: shift rod bushing o-ring - what am I missing here?

Re: shift rod bushing o-ring - what am I missing here?

got some good news and some bad news. If that fat o-ring is indeed the right one then by squeezing it down from the top and using a blunt little rod to start directing it into the groove from the bottom then pushing down more from top and directing more from the bottom should work. Now for the bad news: if it is like my '84 50hp, the new o-ring had a much larger O.D. than the original even though the part number was the same. I even went through the housing numbers thinking that they changed the design but still no good. It was strange because the I.D. was the same and the thickness was identical but the od was about .060" larger. When you put the original and the new one side by side there was a noticable difference. I tried stuffing that larger one in that housing for an hour. Got it in once but the rod didn't feel right so I knew it was twisted. I ended up freezing the o-ring in dry ice and turning down the od with a file on a lathe until it was right. Anyway, I wish you luck with yours. Ken

 

[HighTrim]

Re: shift rod bushing o-ring - what am I missing here?

Re: shift rod bushing o-ring - what am I missing here?

Is it an OEM o ring?

 

[kennyk]

Re: shift rod bushing o-ring - what am I missing here?

Re: shift rod bushing o-ring - what am I missing here?

Mine was. I had bought an OMC seal kit and the fat one came in the kit. I went back to the dealer and he looked up the part number for the o-ring individually and out came the fat one again. Trust me when I say, this o-ring would not fit in the housing. I had two choices, buy a new housing for over $40 which contains the new ring or try to wittle down the fat one. i work in a maintenance shop so I've had to turn soft materials down before on a lathe. It worked great for me. Ken

 

[jtexas]

Re: shift rod bushing o-ring - what am I missing here?

Re: shift rod bushing o-ring - what am I missing here?

thank you ken! at least now I know what the deal is.

nah chris I ordered from ihopmarine & got sierra,

all I had was to get a couple seals in, pop the carbs on & go fishing tomorrow, or so I thought. torque wrench mishap and two helicoils later (and don't ya dare laugh at me for drilling out the wrong hole), and now all afternoon wrangling a #@!!**@ o-ring

any luck the dealer over in ft worth will have it tomorrow.

thanks.

 

[jtexas]

Re: shift rod bushing o-ring - what am I missing here?

Re: shift rod bushing o-ring - what am I missing here?

ok, turns out, the bit of rubber I mention in the original post was just a bit...the original oring broke up and most of it was still in there....shouldn't have assumed.

ken was right about the O.D. being wrong..................

 

[kennyk]

Re: shift rod bushing o-ring - the plot thickens.........

Re: shift rod bushing o-ring - the plot thickens.........

jtexas, I'm guessing you're still going to try and replace it. I'll be very very interested to see how you make out. My theory is that the earlier years used the smaller o-ring with a smaller housing groove (don't know how far back) and the newer design of housing accepts the larger o-ring and groove which is now the norm or standard. Now if this is true I would have thought the housing number or the o-ring number would have been superseded but they weren't. I bet if you ordered the new housing you will find it comes with the larger o-ring and groove. If the dealer has old stock of the o-ring you might luck out and it will be the smaller design. I'm surprised other people haven't run into this problem before. Wonder when the design changed to the larger version? Ken

 

[jtexas]

Re: shift rod bushing o-ring - the plot thickens.........

Re: shift rod bushing o-ring - the plot thickens.........

Took the old o-ring and cover with me to the shop, parts guy comes out with the same fat little bugger.

I showed him how the O.D. was bigger than the old one. Turns out, they loose outside diameter as they age. Who'd a thunk it?

Took the guy about 3 seconds to pop that sucker in there with just a couple small screwdrivers.

"Most common source of gearcase leaks" he says.

 

[kennyk]

Re: shift rod bushing o-ring - the rest of the story.........

jtexas, thanks for the follow up. I hope he got it in there straight. I know I tried over and over and only got it in one time and it had a twist to it. When I inserted the rod through the ring I could tell it wouldn't push smoothly. Now I'm hoping my altered ring will last. I pressure tested the lower unit and it held 14# for many hours. Time will tell... Now get her back together so you can dip a line! Ken

 

[CharlieB]

Re: shift rod bushing o-ring - the rest of the story.........

The shift shaft is suposed to fit TIGHTLY in the O-ring, it holds pressure, now test it for vaccuum. If it fails it will suck water in as the gearcase cools, if you are not in the habit of checking your LU oil after EVERY USE then by the end of the season you will have a NEW GEARSET!

 

[jtexas]

Re: shift rod bushing o-ring - the rest of the story.........

I change my gear oil annually before the first freeze. I'm not equipped for vacuum testing but I'll pressure test it and check it after the next use.