1986 noticed oil around the propellor gearbox oil issue

[tonym]

hi out there ive got a 1986 evinrude e40elcde its been sitting in the shed for about 3 months been tilted half way up i lowered the motor down to give it a run and i noticed a bit of oil driped out from around the propellor about 3 table spoons the oil.It was very clean and it smelt more like gear oil not outboard oil i can not see any more leaking out, How can i check it to see if is leaking out of the rear seal. and if it is the seal at the propellor shaft do i have to pull the whole gears out to change it and is it simple to change

 

[thebubba]

It is pretty simple to change and does not require pulling any gears out if it is just the propeller shaft seal. A lot of times fishing line will get wrapped around the propeller shaft and damage the seal. Get a manual and it will tell you how to replace this seal with exact steps. Basically you take the propeller off and behind it is some sort of bolt on or screw on cover with the seal in the middle. I have not done your particular motor before, but others I have done only take a few minutes. You will want to drain the lower unit oil first and check for water in it and metal shavings. A complete different thing to consider is if you run the mixture too rich, it could just be 2 stroke oil dripping down the exhaust tube. If it looks clean, check the prop seal first.