How to seal lower unit?change lube? female in distress...

[surftrish]

I have a 1983 Johnson 50hp that I just spent a buttload of money on to have the powerhead rebuilt. I'm broke. Now there is milky white stuff in the lower unit and i've been told that either I will need to drain & change the lube after I take the boat out each time (which I don't know how to do) or I will have to get the lower unit re-sealed for around $350. I am buying a manual for the motor today but I need some direction. Does this sound like good advise? That price seems high. Does it take a lot of know-how to change the lube? I'll buy the stuff for that today too. I am a female but very teachable. I've learned a lot from reading this forum for the past few months. Thanks!

 

[Lugnut36]

Re: How to seal lower unit?change lube? female in distress...

I guess you could change the lube each time for now till you can get up the money to have the lower unit resealed. Take off the propeller and make sure the shaft doesnt have fishing line tangled around it ( that can chew up the seal and cause a leak ). I'm not too familiar with your setup so to change the lube shouldnt be very hard there should be two large screws on the side of the lower unit one near the bottom and one near the top, Pull out the top one first that is the vent hole. Then pull the bottom one and your old lower unit oil will come rushing out. Check it for water of course and for large amounts of metal shavings. After its drained, the oil you bought should have a tapered head to it and usually you just cut the tip off the bottle and insert it into the lower unit via the "lower hole" dont try to fill it from the upper. Then force the lube in and continue doing this until you see it start to come out the top hole. Once you see this put the plug into the top and that will help airlock the oil from leaking out of the bottom hole so you have alittle bit of time to get that screw back in. <br /><br />( Dont forget the large screws have washers on them that seal the holes and need to go back in and if they are in bad shape replace them)

 

[Scoop]

Re: How to seal lower unit?change lube? female in distress...

The screws should be very large headed screws. they should look like a matched set. Do not loosen any other screws near the plugs as this can disconnect shift linkages. Changing lower unit lube is as easy as lugnut said. For obvious reasons, shavings are bad. If it is a slow leak and you do not get a lot of water in each time and there are no shavings, then you should be able to use it for a while. If you are using this in salt water then, I would be a little more uncomfortable about the water in the lower unit. We all feel your pain when it comes to keeping enough money around to stay up with repairs. This board, a good repair manual, time, and tools are excellent resources to help keep the cost down. There is nothing more fun that an outboard when it is functioning. Of course there is nothing more frustrating than an outboard when it is not working properly. Good Luck. -Scoop

 

[surftrish]

Re: How to seal lower unit?change lube? female in distress...

Thanks guys. Very helpful. Is the seal job something that I can do myself or is it better left to the tech?

 

[Scoop]

Re: How to seal lower unit?change lube? female in distress...

I wish I could help you there. It will depend on where the unit is leaking. Check the lower unit oil drain screws to make sure they have gaskets. Better yet, get new gaskets they won't cost more than some change. I will have to leave the rest to the experts on the board. Hopefully someone will chime it to let you know about troubleshooting the lower end. The manual you are getting today should have a troubleshooting section and will also let you know if there are special tools to remove the seals you will need to replace.

 

[Walker]

Re: How to seal lower unit?change lube? female in distress...

You will get less of that stinky lube on your hands and tools if you pull the bottom plug first then the top one to drain the lower unit. To fill, put the top screw back in before you pull out whatever contraption you use to fill with.

 

[Terry H]

Re: How to seal lower unit?change lube? female in distress...

Surftrish...I ran 2 motors for a year that way...only changed the lube in the l/u about once a month until I had time to do the repairs...didn't do any apparent damage...those motors still running fine...just a Thought

 

[ob]

Re: How to seal lower unit?change lube? female in distress...

Surftrish ,there are three seals in question.two are internal and will require removal of lower unit.Driveshaft seal and shift rod seal.The other that is accessible from outside is the prop shaft seal.Not always but generally if this seal is leaking water in to lower unit ,at rest,it will be leaking oil out.Removal of propeller and thrust washer will enable you to gain clear view of this seal.this seal is inserted into seal cage assy. which is also incorporated with "o"rings to seal it to the lower unit housing.This seal cage also contains bearing for prop shaft.unit is retained by three bolts about 6"behind prop shaft seal.A puller set-up is generally required to extract once bolts are removed.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: How to seal lower unit?change lube? female in distress...

And if you want to keep the lube where it should be and not on you and your clothes, think about buying a little hand pump at Walmart. It screws on the neck of the lube/oil bottle and the other end screws into the bottom drain hole/plug on your lower unit. Then you pump the plunger and fill it with oil. When oil comes out the top vent hole/plug, stop pumping and put the screw back in the top hole. Now unscrew the pump hose from the bottom hole/plug and put that screw back in real fast. Then unscrew the pump from the bottle, cap the bottle, and pump a little gas through the pump to clean it (stick the suction end down into a small gas can or a coffee can with some gas in it). Last part is optional. Some folks just wrap the pump in a rag and store it until next time, but I like to clean the pump after each use.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: How to seal lower unit?change lube? female in distress...

Oh yeah, the hand pump costs about $6. You can check your lower unit with a pressure test, or rather have the boat guy do this for free since you just spend a buttload of money with him. Basically they pump air into the lower unit and where the air leaks out, that's where the bad seal is located. On my old Merc 500, there's a seal on the prop shaft, the drive shaft and the shift shaft. The seals are little rubber O-rings on my outboard. I had my shift shaft seal replaced for only $60, but the gods were smiling on me that day. If they pressurize the lower unit and it loses air slowly, more than likely only one seal is shot and you can use it for a while by just changing the lower unit lube after each trip on the water. But don't forget to do so!! You can burn up a lower unit fast if you leave the vanilla milkshake in there.

 

[surftrish]

Re: How to seal lower unit?change lube? female in distress...

Thank you so much guys. I got the o/b manual, lube, that pump-thing, and some gaskets at lunch today. With all of your help I think that I am now ready to get myself absolutely filthy. <br />My friends wonder about me and my obsession with this boat but, you know, it's all worth it when you get out there on the water and can see and do things that those landlocked folks can't even dream of. You'll be hearing from me again soon i'm sure.

 

[Gold Bear]

Re: How to seal lower unit?change lube? female in distress...

Actually you should take the top screw out first, because if you should find out that it is stuck, then you have already removed the bottom screw and drained the fluid. Then you can't replace the fluid.<br /><br />In your case (since you have to change it) this may not a problem because you have to change the fluid before you can operate again. This is just general info and not intended to ruffle anyone's feathers.<br /><br />Good luck, Gold Bear

 

[rolmops]

Re: How to seal lower unit?change lube? female in distress...

Female in distress.And all of us male chauvinist pigs came running...<br />I would start with going to a different marina and ask about the price again,because this guy is taking you and your wallet for a ride!!!!<br />I just had it done on a 40 horse for 26 dollars and a case of beer, including labor.<br />Drain all the oil out of your lower unit,flush it with diesel or kerosine,blow it out( have one of us male chauvinist pigs do it) and then refill it.<br />Now a day after you have used it open the lower screw.(water should have seperated by now)and check if there are a few drops of water in there and drain this water out.Then top the thing off.<br />However,if you are in salt water you better make very sure that there is no leak, for having a lower unit gear setup replaced is expensive.