Pinhole on gearcase under cav plate?

J

Jackinpc

Cadet
Joined
Jun 26, 2009
Messages
8
Hi guys,

I bought my first outboard on craigslist this week and am very excited! It's a 1988 evinrude 6 hp.

It starts and runs good but when I carried it in my shed, layed it down for a while, and picked it back up I noticed a leak of gear oil. There seems to be a pinhole on the underside of what I think is called the cavitation plate where the oil is coming from. I drained the gear oil and it was a little milky.

Is this hole necessary or could I just weld/ jb weld it?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Jack
 
samo_ott

samo_ott

Vice Admiral
Joined
Jun 18, 2006
Messages
5,125
Re: Pinhole on gearcase under cav plate?

It's a natural drain for the water and post combustion sludge. It's the mixture of water and unburned fuel... it's normal... It should not be the same as the LU oil.
 
F

F_R

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Jul 7, 2006
Messages
28,195
Re: Pinhole on gearcase under cav plate?

samo_ott said:
It's a natural drain for the water and post combustion sludge. It's the mixture of water and unburned fuel... it's normal... It should not be the same as the LU oil.
Click to expand...

Very likely samo is right. People see and worry about that drainage all the time. It's just the way it is and is perfectly normal. Don't plug the drain hole.

However, was the stuff running out the same color and consistency as the gear oil? How long was it laying down? If a long time (weeks), it could be gear oil from the shift rod seal.
 
J

Jackinpc

Cadet
Joined
Jun 26, 2009
Messages
8
Re: Pinhole on gearcase under cav plate?

Thanks for the replys guys. I'm about 75% sure it was the same consistency of the gear oil. It was only laying down for an hour or two. I might just be paranoid so I will check it again and see if it is drainage. If I were to add compressed air to pressurize it and see if it was leaking would I just do more damage?

Thanks
Jack
 
E

ezeke

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 19, 2003
Messages
12,532
Re: Pinhole on gearcase under cav plate?

If you add pressure, you need to drain the oil first and don't exceed 15 PSI.

If you submerge the pressurized gearcase in a tank, you should be able to spot air bubbles if there is a leak.
 
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