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1991 40 Evinrude Lower unit problems

C

catfishguru

Member
"I have a 1991 40 hp Evinrude

"I have a 1991 40 hp Evinrude that has lower unit problems. I was using the boat last weekend when I apparently hit a stump with the prop and the lower unit seized. I pulled the lower unit off the motor and disassembled it. What I found was that the clutch shifter dog was in about 10 pieces. Also, there were about 3 pieces of what appeared to be wire in there as well. What is the wire? Was it some sort of spring that was in there? I looked up the parts on shopevinrude.com and looked at the break-down. There is a picture of a spring in front of the clutch dog that is not in my foot so I figured maybe that's what the wire is/was. Any help or pointers would be appreciated."
 
The 'wire' is probably

The 'wire' is probably the spring that sits around the clutch dog holding the pin going through the dog and prop shaft in place.
 
Hal if you have hit something

Hal if you have hit something with enough force to break the dog clutch i would have the pinion and forward gear crack tested as i have seen forwaed gear looose teeth a few hours later after an impact
 
"I looked at the parts again a

"I looked at the parts again and you are correct, it is the spring that holds that pin in place. I suppose that probably does not come with the dog clutch so I will have to order the spring as well.

As far as having the gears tested, I took them to my local marine shop and the guy visually inspected them and said they were fine but he didn't do any sort of test on them. I guess if they loose some teeth after a few hours of use at least I will get the joy of doing this all over again..lol. This is the first lower unit I have ever attempted to repair myself and I must say, I'm pretty excited that I got it all apart and believe I can put it back together as well. Thanks for all the help here guys!

P.S. I'm putting all new seals in while I have it taken apart too."
 
"Visually inspect gears after

"Visually inspect gears after such an incident is a waste of time, unless done by Superman! To be sure, they may have to be Magnafluxed! Would suggest You simply change pinion and forward gear at the same time. If You break the pinion gear, probably the gear casing gets damaged as well leaving You with a complete new unit to buy!
If any of my customers smacked up a SST prop, I always changed the gear set. If customer did not agree, a 'no responsibility' note was always on the invoice. I even got some of the insurance companies to accept this after several later breakdowns."
 
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