Can marine grease be used in leaky outboard LU ?

[pecheux]

Good day Y'Awl

1981 Johnson 9.9 hp hit a rock at WOT on plane and messed up the LU. Repair cost to high I will shop for a used complete LU. In the meantime I would like to use the motor for fishing but dont want to run out of LU lubrification, my fishing spots are 5 miles away from boat ramp. I once read that water repellent marine GREASE can be used to fill LU on old OB's. Anybody can confirm this ??

Thank you.

Canuck pecheux

 

[robert graham]

Re: Can marine grease be used in leaky outboard LU ?

Since your lower unit is mostly ruined from your accident then I would expect a marine grease might get you out and back from your fishing area....maybe add just enough lower unit oil to give the grease a slightly liquid characteristic so it'll flow through and around bearings....take your cell phone/spare motor/fishing buddy with extra boat to tow you back if your lower unit dies....which it could!...good luck!....

 

[robert graham]

Re: Can marine grease be used in leaky outboard LU ?

Also, if the leak is from a crack maybe fill crack with JB Weld to seal it up?....

 

[pecheux]

Re: Can marine grease be used in leaky outboard LU ?

Since your lower unit is mostly ruined from your accident then I would expect a marine grease might get you out and back from your fishing area....maybe add just enough lower unit oil to give the grease a slightly liquid characteristic so it'll flow through and around bearings....take your cell phone/spare motor/fishing buddy with extra boat to tow you back if your lower unit dies....which it could!...good luck!....

Tx for your feedback. Would you think running it in a barrel for an hour or so, with gears engaged, could give me an idea if it can run for some time or not ?

 

[gm280]

Re: Can marine grease be used in leaky outboard LU ?

I have to ask, just how bad is your lower unit if you think you can use it with some think lube/grease to get by? If it is able to work okay with grease and water intrusion won't harm the bearings, races, gears, clutch dog, pivot points and prop shaft, then why not have it welded to repair it and boat on?

 

[acdc96]

Re: Can marine grease be used in leaky outboard LU ?

Good day Y'Awl

1981 Johnson 9.9 hp hit a rock at WOT on plane and messed up the LU. Repair cost to high I will shop for a used complete LU. In the meantime I would like to use the motor for fishing but dont want to run out of LU lubrification, my fishing spots are 5 miles away from boat ramp. I once read that water repellent marine GREASE can be used to fill LU on old OB's. Anybody can confirm this ??

Thank you.

Canuck pecheux

Post a pic of the damage. so we can get an idea of what were dealing with.

I have a 1938 Neptune Junior Single 1.2 HP outboard and i use marine grease in the LU. but that motor is mainly for display and the occasional boat show.

 

[nwcove]

Re: Can marine grease be used in leaky outboard LU ?

i would try lubriplate mag-00 . run the motor in a barrel in gear for awhile and see how it goes. jmo

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Can marine grease be used in leaky outboard LU ?

I'd try to plug it with JB or something similar first, why would you knowingly let it leak and use it that way if there was a chance of at least a temporary fix. I have seen temporary fixes like this last many years at times.

 

[robert graham]

Re: Can marine grease be used in leaky outboard LU ?

Tx for your feedback. Would you think running it in a barrel for an hour or so, with gears engaged, could give me an idea if it can run for some time or not ?

Sure, run it in a barrel and see how much grease/lubricant is lost...again, a crack may be temporarily patched with some JB Weld/epoxy....especially on a low horsepower motor.....depending on size/location of crack, welding could be an option...If you're in saltwater then this lubrication/leak is a worse problem....freshwater would be better....good luck!...

 

[pecheux]

Re: Can marine grease be used in leaky outboard LU ?

Post a pic of the damage. so we can get an idea of what were dealing with.

I have a 1938 Neptune Junior Single 1.2 HP outboard and i use marine grease in the LU. but that motor is mainly for display and the occasional boat show.

Damage is inside. According to OB mecanic, seals + bearing + bent shaft. I did hit hard. Part of the skeg broke off, but there is enough left to run as is, but the prop was not damaged so I cant figure out why the shaft would be bent. Total repair cost was estimated at $ 550. + ... so I figured (right or wrong) I should shop for a complete used LU. I love this motor but I have a spare 1997 Force 15 Hp I can use in the meantime. I do intend to experiment with the OMC 9.9 LU just for fun. Thank you,

 

[JimS123]

Re: Can marine grease be used in leaky outboard LU ?

Back in the day they all used grease. Just the technology of the time. I find more oldies with welded lower units than i do new motors. If the LU is leaking because of a crack, water will get in whether it has grease or oil inside.

You need to keep the water out, not worry about what's inside leaking out.

 

[pecheux]

Re: Can marine grease be used in leaky outboard LU ?

i would try lubriplate mag-00 . run the motor in a barrel in gear for awhile and see how it goes. jmo

Nova Scotia Hey ! lol such a beautifull place, reminds me of New England states. Tx for the lubriplate suggestion. I had amsoil marine bearing grease i mind. Using it on my boat trailer, made for bearings that sink in water. but in a perfect world I will find a new to me complete LU as replacement. Cheers.

 

[pecheux]

Re: Can marine grease be used in leaky outboard LU ?

Back in the day they all used grease. Just the technology of the time. I find more oldies with welded lower units than i do new motors. If the LU is leaking because of a crack, water will get in whether it has grease or oil inside.

You need to keep the water out, not worry about what's inside leaking out.

As far as I know the housing is not cracked or damaged. WIll run it in a barrel with LU oil and then drain it to estimate just how much water/oil ratio is in there. Seems when oil leaks from a LU there is always water going inside ?? Tx for your feedback

 

[jimmbo]

Re: Can marine grease be used in leaky outboard LU ?

Back in the day they all used grease. Just the technology of the time. I find more oldies with welded lower units than i do new motors. If the LU is leaking because of a crack, water will get in whether it has grease or oil inside.

You need to keep the water out, not worry about what's inside leaking out.

I'm sure the lakes Ecosystem will love you for that. What's a pint or two of 90 weight in the water?

 

[acdc96]

Re: Can marine grease be used in leaky outboard LU ?

It's weird that the prop is fine and the propshaft is bent. When u run the engine after you hit the the rock does the motor vibrate a lot or shake? (In gear)
Cause u might get away with just a seal kit for $30.

 

[JimS123]

Re: Can marine grease be used in leaky outboard LU ?

I'm sure the lakes Ecosystem will love you for that. What's a pint or two of 90 weight in the water?

Maybe a poor choice of words. My comments were not anti-environment. The implication was that he needs to fix the leak and that grease won't stop it from leaking.

It doesn't have to be a crack. Bad seals are always suspect.

 

[pecheux]

Re: Can marine grease be used in leaky outboard LU ?

It's weird that the prop is fine and the propshaft is bent. When u run the engine after you hit the the rock does the motor vibrate a lot or shake? (In gear)
Cause u might get away with just a seal kit for $30.

Nope ... No vibrations ...

 

[pecheux]

Re: Can marine grease be used in leaky outboard LU ?

I'm sure the lakes Ecosystem will love you for that. What's a pint or two of 90 weight in the water?

It's not leaking THAT BAD. Less oil output than a 2 cycles OB exhaust dew. Just leaking enough to have water mixed with the LU oil. In the case of this 1981 Johnson when LU oil was drained yearly it still looks like new oil. In a perfect world I agree that all OB's should be electric powered, but OB's are not perfect ... even the 4 cycles ones. Cheers

 

[robert graham]

Re: Can marine grease be used in leaky outboard LU ?

I have an old 3HP Tanaka and the lower unit was leaking due to a bent prop shaft and I got in the habit of draining and refilling the lower unit every time I went out....it worked fine but I did get a new prop shaft to stop it from leaking....Your prop shaft may be able to be removed and straightened with a small hydraulic press....not that hard to do.....good luck!

 

[pecheux]

Re: Can marine grease be used in leaky outboard LU ?

I might have phrased wrong. I presumed there is an oil leak because there was water mixed with the LU oil when I drained it last fall. I figured if water comes in, oil goes out. I could be wrong. I would not use the motor on any river or lake if it had a visible LU oil leak. Bent shaft, damaged bearing and seal following a hard hit on plane (a rock not bottom) is the report I had from our local marine shop with a note: "not worth fixing". I will double check that running it in a barrel first and drain the LU oil just to see the result, and proceed to LU replacement if necessary. Thank you all for your help.