Look at these gearcase pictures!!! Seal Question

jchristi · Jun 3, 2011

I noticed a small amout of milkyness in my lower unit oil today. Dropped the lower unit and removed the water pump. This seal seems to have a bit too much play in it. I have about 1/16 of an inch as you can see from one picture to the next. Is this normal for this seal?

Daviet · Jun 3, 2011

Re: Look at these gearcase pictures!!! Seal Question

Are you talking about the drive shaft moving up and down, wht is the model number of the engine you are working on?

Caseyuconn · Jun 3, 2011

Re: Look at these gearcase pictures!!! Seal Question

Have you eliminated the two vent plugs and prop seal first? Pressure test the lower unit and use some soapy water to find the leak.

jchristi · Jun 3, 2011

Re: Look at these gearcase pictures!!! Seal Question

talking about it moving side to side. it is a 1998 evinrude 150 intruder. (E150GLECD). Ive seen a lot on here about pressure testing it. should I just set my compressor to about 15lbs and soap up the seal to see if it leaks?

Caseyuconn · Jun 3, 2011

Re: Look at these gearcase pictures!!! Seal Question

Don't use your compressor, it will put to much pressure to quickly on the lower unit. To be safe I always use the small bicycle pump homemade deal.
15lbs is the max you want to fill. If you go to high with the pressure you can actually blow seals.
Lookup how to make the homemade deal, it is very easy. You can also buy one if you like.
Pump up the lower unit to 4-6 lbs and let it sit for 30 mins. If the pressure drops you have a leak. So pump up again and soapy water the plugs and around the propeller seal, you will see small bubbles if there is a leak.
If it passes the 4-6lb test then pump up to 10 or 15lbs and leave it for 30 mins or an hour and check for pressure change.
Wiggle the prop and drive shaft while testing. I recently found out the static test is a bad indicator of leaks and moving th parts around will tell you better how the lower unit seals when the prop is moving.

jchristi · Jun 3, 2011

Re: Look at these gearcase pictures!!! Seal Question

gotcha....i think i can rig someting up with a bike pump and a fuel pump test guage tomorrow. Thanks for the help.

Sixmark · Jun 3, 2011

Re: Look at these gearcase pictures!!! Seal Question

Set you regulator at 5lbs of pressure and you will be just fine.

Monte1961 · Jun 3, 2011

Re: Look at these gearcase pictures!!! Seal Question

That big, you could go 12lbs on a pressure regulator. If you have a tank or clean trashcan that will fill above impeller housing and look for bubbles. What ever you do while it is under pressure turn both shafts, prop and main while checking for bubbles. Just a small note: use some grease on seal/s pryor to installing shafts.

jchristi · Jun 5, 2011

Re: Look at these gearcase pictures!!! Seal Question

Thank for all the help! I pressure tested it yesterday and the drive shaft seal (the one in the picture) was leaking at about 2-3 lbs. Replaced all the seals yesterday. It wasnt too bad of a job with a gear puller set and homemade puller out of allthread. Hope to give it a test soon. Thanks for the advice on greasing the seals.

jason

jonesg · Jun 5, 2011

Re: Look at these gearcase pictures!!! Seal Question

jchristi said:
Thank for all the help! I pressure tested it yesterday and the drive shaft seal (the one in the picture) was leaking at about 2-3 lbs. Replaced all the seals yesterday. It wasnt too bad of a job with a gear puller set and homemade puller out of allthread. Hope to give it a test soon. Thanks for the advice on greasing the seals.

jason

Take it apart again and document the process with photos.

Or at least post a pic of your homemade tools.

jchristi · Jun 5, 2011

Re: Look at these gearcase pictures!!! Seal Question

I got some pics. I will get them up in the next day or so.

jonesg · Jun 5, 2011

Re: Look at these gearcase pictures!!! Seal Question

jchristi said:
I got some pics. I will get them up in the next day or so.

Great I want to save them to my drive, I'm sure I'll be needing them at some point.

1946Zephyr · Jun 5, 2011

Re: Look at these gearcase pictures!!! Seal Question

It almost looks like it had the wrong seal in, the first time. A correct seal shouldn't have any play in it, even if it is worn out.

jchristi · Jun 6, 2011

Re: Look at these gearcase pictures!!! Seal Question

I have owned the boat since new and they have never been changed. I bought the factory re-seal kit and the replacement was identical. I replaced and pressure and vacuum tested it and works great.

jchristi · Jun 6, 2011

Re: Look at these gearcase pictures!!! Seal Question

Here are some picture of the job. This does not include all of the steps but should help with some of the hangups or areas for mistakes.

Step 1: Make stand (critical - I couldnt imagine doing this off the floor, i made one out of a piece of 2x10 that i mounted to my workbench and cut to fit under the cavitation plate.

After the prop is removed you will need to remove the bearing carrier. There is an OMC tool for this but I just used allthread and a gear puller and pulled it against the propshaft. It doesnt take much force.

When removing the bearing carrier make sure to take note of the thrust washer as it may be stuck to the bearing carrier to ensure it is put back on during re-assembly. If left off you will have way too much prop end play

On the bearing carrier there is 3 seal points, one in the prop end (see document regarding which seals/number of seals, and one outer O ring on each end.

jchristi · Jun 6, 2011

Re: Look at these gearcase pictures!!! Seal Question

Then there are two O rings inside the shift rod cover

Look at these gearcase pictures!!! Seal Question

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