18 hp gearcase seals

G'Day i have a 1967 evinrude 18 i have recently replaced all of the oilseals because they were leaking like a seive and now the oil still leaks out of the prop shaft i think the prop shaft may be rusted and uneven where the seal goes. any ideas?

Re: 18 hp gearcase seals

hello<br /> normally the seal cuts a groove and pits the shaft. sometimes you can cut a .o2" or .o3" shim to place under the seal. the object is to raise the seal some yet still keep it paralell with the bore.sometimes you can drive the seal a bit deeper in the bore. or you can buy a new shaft .

Re: 18 hp gearcase seals

Thanks for that but i think its not worth it the engine is 37 years old ill just top up the oil. i have a 3hp horse evinrude that had leaky seals it was ticking me off that i had to top up so i just left it 2 years later i opened the case and i was full of salt water from running and had no rust!<br />any way thanks for that

Re: 18 hp gearcase seals

i have same engine and had same problem. bought aftermarket seal kit and installed propshaft seal a tad deeper than the original. worked like a charm. no oil leaking out, no water getting in.

Re: 18 hp gearcase seals

Hi Tom<br />I am probably just wasting my time here, it sounds like you have already made up your mind to go with a bad choice. Your 18hp motor may not be worth a bunch for resale. But if there is anything left of it ( it still runs well) then it is worth repairing properly. There are several economicly feasable solutions to this problem. Rodbolt and Brokeboater give two different ways to basicly do the samething.They are just moving the seal lips to where it will seal on a portion of the shaft that is not worn. Another idea is to use a Speedy sleeve. If you continue to operate with the leak and try to top up you will loose. What happens is the bronze bearings (bushings) in the gear case will heat up an seize. It may start out as a not shifting problem, and progress to worse. It may just let go all at once and damage the drive shaft or crank shaft. Take the time to make this small inexpencive repair, have a dependable motor. Don't risk your fun day,your life,your buddies life.

Re: 18 hp gearcase seals

Strange for an OMC product to do this.The shaft O.D. is usually OK.grooved,but not rusted.Did you apply sealer to the outside of the seals?Metal to metal area?<br /><br />DHP

Re: 18 hp gearcase seals

yes i did apply sealer but ill just leave it ive just done it up and painted it i will just top it up i only use it once or twice a fortnight. i rebuilt it for somthing to do<br /><br />Thanks alot for the feed back

Re: 18 hp gearcase seals

Just think off the enviroment too, oil leaking into the waterways UNNECESSARILY. I too have an old evinrude (1968)with a damaged propshaft (also read, non-replacable in Australia), it cost me AU$40.00 for a local engineering firm to grind it back a few thou, and AU$25.00 for the Speedie Sleeve, to repair the sealing area of the shaft. It has fixed it perfectly. The gear case holds presure and vacumme, and not a drop of oil has leaked out since putting it together.<br />I know that you have just put your's together and painted it, I did that several times, then discovered something else, But I know that it is now done right and hopefully last for many more years to come. I strongly urge you to consider getting it repaired right.

Re: 18 hp gearcase seals

yes i just realised that my mate had a metal lathe. is it possible that i can weld the damaged part of the shaft and use the lathe to grind it back to orignal size?

Re: 18 hp gearcase seals

nah, the seal area is case hardened, thats why I got mine ground by an engineering firm. The speedy sleeve is a press fit onto the shaft, and is hardened from the factory. If you try and weld it, it will wear down very quickly, and then you are back where you are now. The speedy sleeve is a long term repair, that offers the advantage of being easily replaced with a new sleeve when the old one eventually wears out.

Re: 18 hp gearcase seals

Lark<br />If done properly. The method Tom describes will be as good as new, better than a speedie sleeve. This process just costs a little more. But since he has acess to the equiptment and horse trades a little, go for the best.

Re: 18 hp gearcase seals

yeah. it think ill go for the speedy sleave. does anyone know where i could find more info? Website or somthing<br />Thanks

Re: 18 hp gearcase seals

Just take your shaft to a bearing shop, CBC or similar, they have all the sizes on the shelf.<br /><br />Alcan, you should know that weld metal is alot softer than that of a hardened shaft. The seal would destroy it within a few months. The only way that welding and grinding would work is if he is able to have the area hardened again. This would end up costing more than a new shaft.