1979 55 hp evenride water in lower unit

Hi guys: got a question for you all. Late last summer I bought the motor mentioned, put new oil in lower unit and had it on the lake for maybe an hour. Later I discovered it had a LOT of water in the oil. So naturally I want to fix that. I am guessing there is 3 seals. one behind prop, drive shaft, and shift rod. I know I will have to drop the lower unit but I guess my question is: can these seals be replaced without completely tearing the lower unit apart? In other words, I can pry the seals from the top ( example: around drive shaft pry it out, slide new seal down over shaft and re install ) was just wondering cause the thought of having to tear into the lower unit and pulling out gears and stuff sounds kinda scarey to me since i dont really know what I am doing

Thanks in advance for your help

Curtis

Re: 1979 55 hp evenride water in lower unit

Before you do that see if the seals for the drain and fill screws need replacing; did you use new seals/washers when you replaced the gear lube?

Re: 1979 55 hp evenride water in lower unit

Good point. No I did not use new seals/washers but I will for sure check them out. If they check out, original question still stands.It might be worth adding this motor had been sitting for about 10 years before I bought it