Water in lower unit, 61 Evinrude 5.5

[JSGOLD]

I was looking over the 1961 Evinrude "Fisherman" 5.5 HP motor I bought recently and opened the lower drain plug on the lower unit. About a tablespoon of pure water came out first, followed slowly by the blackest oil I have ever seen. I did not see any milky color but obviously water was in there. The motor was started for us in a tub so it has ran recently, but it has sat for 2yrs before that so maybe the water separated(??)..anyway I did not see any "washers" on the screws like the larger 55hp (76) evinrude I have(no water, no milky conditions). Would the older motor not have these too? Looked like small rubber o rings on the inside of the openings. Any other way for water to leak into the lower unit besides gasket/seal failures? Are these lower units difficult to service?

 

[freddyray21]

Re: Water in lower unit, 61 Evinrude 5.5

they should have plastic washers for seals on the drains. O rings I am told will work, but I have never tried it. It may be just the drain plugs. Get proper gaskets first. refill it with lube run it a time or two and check it. If no water then don't worry. If there is water then Those are not hard to change seals on. Rather than tell you there are several threads on the seal changes so just do a search.

 

[JSGOLD]

Re: Water in lower unit, 61 Evinrude 5.5

Thanks, will do. It looked like small rubber seals on the lower unit itself, did not try to tinker with them. I will look at it some more in the next day or two. I was wondering...am I correct that to check the water impeller I am going to have to remove the lower unit? would I have to replace any gaskets to do this? Am going over the motor during the winter /spring to get it ready for service.

 

[R.Johnson]

Re: Water in lower unit, 61 Evinrude 5.5

The oil retaining screws' should have the nylon washers. The upper driveshaft bushing, and seal retainer is quite fragile in that it is easily damaged when removing the seal. It is also quite exspensive for what it is. I have many times just cut these seals' out on my lathe. Same for the prop shaft seal. I recall the oil screws' with the o-ring, but I don't recall them on the 5.5. I would just drain, and replace with fresh oil, then keep watch on it. That small amount of water is not uncommon.