Honda 50 prop won't turn – water in gearcase

[mcaswell]

Our boat is (well, was) kept in a slip on the MS Gulf Coast. In advance of Hurricane Katrina, I pulled the boat out. As I was motoring through the marina to get to the ramp, I noticed an unusual sound coming from the motor (a subtle, but noticeable grinding/rattling).<br /><br />Of course, all hell broke loose down here with the arrival of the hurricane, and I forgot all about this strange noise until a few days ago when I casually tried to spin the prop as I walked past the boat (which is now at my house, since the marina is gone)... it's stuck and won't turn (confirmed the motor is in neutral).<br /><br />I removed the lower unit oil plug, and a thin liquid mixture that appeared to be more water than oil came out.<br /><br />The oil was changed a bit less than a year ago, and I didn't notice any signs of water presence then.<br /><br />Now, the motor is covered under a 3rd party extended warranty that was purchased by the original owner. This is one of those shady kinds of "warranties" that only covers specific things listed. For the lower unit, it states:<br /><br />

LOWER UNIT COMPONENTS: Gearcase head, bearing, and oil retainer (except drop shaft seal); gearcase housing; driveshaft and upper bearing; shift rod and cover housing assembly; lower pinion bearing; forward and/or pinion gear; reverse gear; and shift fork. (gear case and/or propeller shaft if damaged as a result of the failure of a covered component)

A bit further down, it says...<br /><br />

SEALS AND GASKETS: Seals and gaskets are covered for those components covered by this agreement

I'm wondering if the (excluded) "drop shaft seal" is a typo, really meaning "PROP shaft seal."<br /><br />I'm not sure when I'll be able to bring it in to the local Honda dealer... I think they were badly flooded by the hurricane. In the meantime, I'm trying to gather information on what some possible culprits are, and, based on the text of the agreement, what my chances are of having this covered under the warranty.<br /><br />Thanks in advance,<br /><br />--Mike

 

[scotty c]

Re: Honda 50 prop won't turn – water in gearcase

i hate to tell you this but it sounds like you've<br />run it long enough with no gearcase oil to<br />grind the gears into mush.<br />Sometimes a seal will let go(prop shaft etc.)<br />and the gear oil will slowly drain out.<br />without lube in the gearcase it doe not take<br />long to ruin the gears.<br />it really does not sound like a warranty issue<br /><br />suggest you look on E-BAY you might be able to <br />locate a used lower unit<br /><br />I think i will go check my gear oil right now !

 

[mcaswell]

Re: Honda 50 prop won't turn – water in gearcase

An update... I had a chance this afternoon to examine the motor more thoroughly. First, I drained the gearcase. From what I understand, milky brown oil indicates a slight presence of water, which is a problem that must be addressed, but is not necessarily the end of the world (I've read that this oil is designed to absorb a certain amount of water). However, the stuff that came out of my gearcase was not oil with a little water, but rather was water with a little oil... it was black, and very thin.<br /><br />Next, I tried to apply a little more force to the prop, and actually got it to turn. But it sounds (and feels) absolutely terrible... there are clearly chunks of metal in there.<br /><br />After noticing water dripping down from behind the prop, I removed it and saw that the seal is destroyed (I'll post pics later).<br /><br />So anyway, my gearcase is toast... I guess I'll pull it off and bring it somewhere to assess whether or not it can be rebuilt. The skeg has some chunks out of it, presumably from when the previous owner tried to pull the boat up the ramp with motor tilted down, so perhaps I should just try to find another one.<br /><br />--Mike

 

[scotty c]

Re: Honda 50 prop won't turn – water in gearcase

i had the same thing happen to a 50 hp merc<br />a few years ago.<br />there is not much point in trying to rebuild<br />what you have because you will pay more for the parts and labour than to replace the entire <br />lower unit.<br />check e-bay and maybe your local honda dealer<br />sometimes they slavge a lower unit from a motor<br />with a blown powerhead.