1988 48 Hp Evinrude gearcase

[pugsley]

Hi, First thanks for all the great info. I have spent quite a lot of time searching old posts and found lots of helpful info.
My lower unit went from perfectly fine operation to a complete breakdown without any shifting problems or warning. The engine popped out of gear at 3/4 throttle and :"clang"popped back in. We were able to idle back in with a constant clang and grind. After tear down,I have the following conditions1) the gearcase had fresh lube with no water,only lots of glitter.(2) reverse gear appears fine (3) shift dog shows slight wear (4) forward gear has more missing teeth than great grandma (5) the pinion gear is also chewed up. Having read many posts, it appears to me that these gearcases are problematic. (a) what caused this and (b) are these units worth fixing? I have another motor -1971 50 hp Johnson-which was in good working cond at last use. Should I change motors, or fix the 88? Thanks

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1988 48 Hp Evinrude gearcase

welcome to iboats.
very rare, 48 is actually a 50 hp motor, just without the VRO2 fuel pump. usually extremely dependable. i would hunt a donor lower unit.

 

[mikesea]

Re: 1988 48 Hp Evinrude gearcase

As tash sais,they are rare,AND,salvagers know it.Look on ebay,you MIGHT be lucky to find one from a private seller with a bad powerhead ,I had a guy with a 50 ,it was mint except for the gearcase,couldnt find on in a reasonable price range.Seems like some are going for $700.Which,if your eng is MINT MINT mINT,its a toss up if you spend the bucks.For goofs ,im going on ebay too to see what I can locate for ya.Curiosity,I have looked for other guys on here as well,little luck.

 

[mikesea]

Re: 1988 48 Hp Evinrude gearcase

as expected,a couple on ebay,now they are getting over $800.but one guy had one for 500.I think that is way too much for a gearcase you dont know if its going to blow too.As learned,there is a weakness of those units,in fact,many 48-50 hp powerheads for sale,No wonder why.here is a link to the 500 dollar one,if it comes up,you might want to look into rebuilding what you have,but again,my experience was the parts were big bucks too.Dont know what your boat is,but,the 3 cyl 60 to 70 hp evin john,are great engines ,lots of spare used parts out there and your controls for any john evin will work no problem.As long as its 1980s and newer with the big RED plug harness ,NOT the purple

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/EVIN...at_Parts_Accessories_Gear?hash=item20b06f3e6e

 

[pugsley]

Re: 1988 48 Hp Evinrude gearcase

THanks for your help. I found a new gearset on ebay and will attempt to rebuild. This will be my first. I would not pay five or eight hundred dollars for a rebuilt or used unit. This motor is on a 24 ft Harris pontoon boat. Is this too much boat for the 48? I am still at a loss for why this unit destroyed itself, other than the weakness in the unit itself. Five consecutive teeth were sheared off the fwd gear, and the pinion trashed. Any advice on the rebuild would be greatly appreciated. I am not clear on the shimming I have read about in other posts.