Dowel Pin in 68 Evinrude Drive Shaft: Purpose and Replacement.

[BillyBoating]

I've been having cooling issues with a 6803R Evinrude 6hp. The saga of that is in this thread:
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engin...68-model-6803r

In an effort to fix the cooling issue, I dropped the LU again. I noticed that the 3/32" pin that goes through the driveshaft about 3 inches down from the top had snapped. There's only a little nub left on each side. This pin was bent when I reassembled the LU last time, so maybe it snapped during reassembly.

So, my questions:
1. Could this in any way be affecting cooling? From what I can find, it's purpose is to create some sort of seal at the power head, but I'm not sure what
2. Can I replace it with a simple piece of 3/32" dowel, or is there something special about it?
3. How long is it supposed to be

Thoughts on any/all of the above would be appreciated. Thank you

 

[racerone]

That pin drives / rotates the mechanical seal under the powerhead.-----When removing the lower unit the driveshaft or the flywheel must be rotated so the pin goes through a slot provided for that purpose.-----Some one did not do that or someone did not have the tools to remove the pin properly.-----So today I am going to suggest you remove the powerhead for inspection of that seal.-----That seal is critical for long life of your motor !------You will see how long the pin needs to be by the washer with the 2 wee bumps on it.

 

[BillyBoating]

Thanks. What exactly is it sealing? In other words, is it keeping oil in, water out, etc?
Could it affect cooling?
I'm about to go off to Home Depot to see if they have some 3/32" stock

 

[BillyBoating]

I gotta admit, pulling the power head terrifies me. I've read too many horror stories of snapped bolts. Is this something a newb like me can do?

 

[racerone]

If your motor is a fresh water motor the 7 bolts will all come out.---Rarely does one break on me.----This seal helps keep water out of the motor.

 

[BillyBoating]

It's freshwater. So is it possible this is the cause of my cooling problems, like maybe water getting into engine creating back pressure to cooling? Reason I ask is I've rechecked cooling system again and still can't find the problem, so I'm half hoping this is related and not just a new headache.

 

[racerone]

No it is all really simple and stop imagining the worst here. ----That seal is not the cause of your cooling problems.---The wrong gasket may be an issue.------When you are done with this inspection you might say " wow, that was simple "

 

[BillyBoating]

I've checked the pipe from my water pump, reinspected the impeller. I plan to check head gasket next, but waiting on new one to get here before I do. With all the pipes I can find clear, the blockage/issue must be in the engine water channels or due to head gasket. Not much left to check.
Thanks for the help and the encouraging words. I'm off to get that roll pin now

 

[racerone]

No I am not talking about the cylinder head gasket.----It is the gasket under the powerhead of which I speak !

 

[F_R]

No Title

This is the carbon seal that is driven by that stainless steel roll pin. It is absolutely necessary that it all be in good condition. If not, water gets into the crankcase and sooner or later you can kiss the motor goodby because of the resulting damage.

 

[BillyBoating]

Okay, I think I confused things by mixing two topics.
I understand that with respect to the roll pin, you are speaking of the gasket under the powerhead.
However, in another thread, dealing with my cooling issues, you'd noted that there may be an incorrect gasket in place. I assumed you meant the head gasket. I plan to remove the head and inspect the head gasket anyway because I thought that may be a cause of the cooling problem. I was thinking more of gases causing back pressure in the water channels, not an incorrect gasket, but by checking one I'll be checking the other.

 

[BillyBoating]

Just realized that my engine is a 6802R, not 6803R. Hopefully that's not a problem for what we are talking about

 

[racerone]

??---There is no difference between these 2 motors comncerning the topics discussed.------Except one may be a long shaft

 

[BillyBoating]

I got a new pin. I want to make sure I don't break this one as well. So, when I'm reassembling, how do I do it? Do I insert the shaft into the hole as far as it will go, then rotate the starting wheel up top u till the pin slips into its slot? Do I somehow rotate the drive shaft itself until the pin slides in?

 

[F_R]

In order to go through the slot, the drive shaft has to be positioned so the pin sticks out each side (as opposed to fore & aft). Then as you install it to the motor you probably will have to rotate the flywheel till the splines line up with the drive shaft. Remove the spark plugs first to make it easy to turn and "feel".

 

[BillyBoating]

Thanks FR. Unfortunately I just finished getting it in before I saw your reply. I got it done, but had I see this first it may have gone a lot more quickly and easily, lol. There were more than a few choice words muttered along the way, that's for sure.
Now, time to get back to my cooling problem. It's a freshwTer engine so I wouldn't think the water channels in the engine would be clogged, but it's about all that's left to check.

My sincere thanks to all of you who are taking the time to help

 

[BigB9k]

Did you just change the impeller?
Did you buy a new pump kit?
(plastic body?)
Reuse the original housing?

 

[BillyBoating]

Yes, new impeller. Not new pump. Pump is metal housing and was in good shape.
I hooked a drill to drive shaft and spun it. I got bubbling out of pump: not much, but drill is about 150 rpm and engine is what, around 1000 rpm? So didn't expect much, but did show me impeller was spinning and pumping.
FYSA, this is the thread that lays out my cooling problem saga: http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engi...n-t-get-water-flow-in-evinrude-68-model-6803r

 

[AlTn]

did you use any sealant around your wear plate, both upper and lower sides, around the rim?

 

[BillyBoating]

No. No sealant. Nothing I read, including service manual, said to do so.
Do you think the minimal leakage there could cause this problem?