Re: Need all advise-Lower Unit/Cost Question!! 79 Evinrude
ideas on this depend on your abilities.
My 1st idea would be to disassemble lower unit yourself, completely. Provided you can do this, then you don't have to pay the guy for doing that work which is where most of the $450 bill is coming from, his time. The welding part is likely $100ish give or take. Where did it crack is the big question though, some areas and types of cracks I would feel perfectly comfortable welding up others not so much.
my 2nd idea is more costly, search for a lower unit (ebay, amazon, ect...) purchase it, put it on your boat, change the oil in it, look for signs of wear (metal flakes, chips, teeth from gears ect...) cross your fingers that it is as advertised "in good condition" and go forth. Heck I bought one on ebay the other day for my john boats 15hp... and paid $33 yes thirty three dollars I didn't forget a zero, and it came with prop, the short driveshaft (what I was really wanting), water pump and bolts. it just happened to have stains on the paint.
my 3rd idea would require my 1st idea to be possible (provided you can disassemble the lower unit yourself that is) wash it out with gasoline several times to clean up the oil very very well, then use either acetone or brake cleaner or both to assure yourself that it is completely oil free. Then clean up the area around the crack by several inches 4 to 8 inches from the crack in all directions, clean it very well with brake cleaner again, heat up the lower unit (outside as it is painted) to about 600 degrees F, and then use a torch (i prefer oxy acetylene or mapp gass depending on how much heat i need to bring the cracked area up to 750-760 degrees F and use an aluminum solder/braze from harbor freight (they sell it as aluminum welding rod it is a braze or solder) to do this right you would want the crack cleaned very well with a fine pointed dremel bit so all shiny metal there.
my 4th idea requires more fineness, do all of the above but use a true aluminum braze the type that requires flux, clean as above, apply flux to the crack and 1/4" around it, preheat the lower unit case well, then apply more heat (at this point more heat is required because you will be about 50 degrees off the melting point of the metal) the flux will turn white and fluffy, then go dull grey clearish liquid, you can then wick the aluminum braze in and it will run like water via capillary action, it will only adhere to the areas that are clean shiny aluminum that was fluxed. I personally prefer this method, though there is risk involved if you have never done it, in that a few more degrees added will cause the entire thing to start melting. better to practice a bit one scraps 1st.
I would personally recommend the take it apart and just give the guy the cleaned up case to weld up...approach if you are mechanically inclined.
If you are not mech inclined or do not have the tools needed, buying a used case or lower unit is a great option, just take a bit of time to locate one that isn't massively overpriced.
I would say that selling the boat would be last resort just my personal two cents.
last thought on this is you must have had water somewhere to get a cracked lower unit, was there water in the oil? or water above the gearhousing.... where did it crack and why... so that this doesnt happen again next year.
Sean
