question for vinney on omc's

[sea wolf]

hello vinney. u seem to know what your talking about as witnessed by your posts. so i'll run this past u. i have an 87 omc cobra, 3.0. i have a recurring problem with water in gear lube. a couple yrs. back i tore it down & replaced all the seals. the problem has come back. i changed the seals on the prop shaft & water pump shaft this summer but that hasen't solved the problem. even when i ran it off the hose to winterize it the water contaminated the gear lube. i'm at my wit's end & am not looking forward to tearing this drive apart again. any suggestions?

 

[P.V.]

Re: question for vinney on omc's

You need to pressur and vacuum test your lower unit. If you had the seals replaced previously, where was the bad seal that was leaking??? What did the rotating surfaces (prop shaft, drive shaft, shift shaft) look like?? Did it have a "groove" cut into it from the seal?? Did it get changed?? My experience says to look hard at the shift shaft as that area seems to get a groove in it from repeated up and down movement!!!It has two o-rings that seal it but the shaft gets a "flat-spot" worn on it! Replacement of the o-rings won't solve the worn shaft!!

 

[sea wolf]

Re: question for vinney on omc's

when i changed the seals the only bad ones i found were the ones i mentioned. however on the shift shaft i assumed there was only a wiper? are there seals beneath the cover besides a gasket? the shaft does not look worn.

 

[P.V.]

Re: question for vinney on omc's

There are two o-rings inside the brass bushing! You will need a pick to remove them and grease to help install new ones. Again, you need to presssure and vacuum check prior to anything else!! After repairing, pressure check again!

 

[vinney]

Re: question for vinney on omc's

THERE ARE THREE ORING ON THE HOUSING WERE THE DRIVE SHAFT COMES THRU WERE THE UPPER GOES ON THE LOWER UNIT. THE FACTORY BOOK STATES TO PUT GASKET SEALIN COUMPOUND ON THOSE O RING IF YOU DO THE GEAR CASE WILL LEAK. YOU NEED TO CLEAN THE HOUSING WITH BRAKE CLEAN AND REMOVE THAT OLD COUMPOUND AND CLEAN THE HOUSING WERE THE ORINGS GO. WHEN YOU PUT IT BACK TOGETHER USE GEAR LUBE ON THOSE ORINGS. CHECK THE LITTLE ORING IN THE SHIFT COVER HOUSING MAKE SURE YOU CHANGE IT. ITS A PAIN. VINNEY

 

[sea wolf]

Re: question for vinney on omc's

thanx for the replies. is there a d.i.y. vacuum/pressure tester i can buy at an auto parts store or elsewhere? if not, i guess i'll bring it in.