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lower unit leak?? 1996 48 hp

P

paperclip68

New member
Have a 96 Evinrude, 48 HP. Had the seals done few months back, spent about $400, at first it leaked then stopped leaking now leaking again. Anybody have an opion why that has happen? Was it a bad job by the repair shop is the the lower unit bad and need to be replaced? Could really use an opion, should I just sell boat and motor and start saving for anthor boat or spend about anthor $2000 on a new lower unit? Please respond directly too to [email protected]
 
Re: lower unit leak??

Have the lower unit pressure tested to look for / find the leak.-----------------Is water getting into the gear oil ???-----When is this " leak " happening ??-----------Is it when you run the motor on a hose in the driveway ????-------------You need to post more information or a " picture " of this leakage.
 
Re: lower unit leak??

yes it has been pressure tested, said everything looked good. only tested in the driveway with motor flush, by myself. to me looks like water may be in oil mixture but can not say for sure. do i need to run at the lake for more true results. the only thing is that other motors i have owned have never shown this much if any oil leak from the lower unit area at the prop.
 
Re: lower unit leak??

'never shown this much if any oil leak from the lower unit area at the prop.'
Looks to me like it its not a question about gear oil leak, but un-burnt 2-stroke oil from the exhaust system!!
 
Re: lower unit leak??

Factory oil seals can be trusted for say 10 years at least with " normal " use-------------I do not think there is a problem.--------------You are running with a thermostat installed and it is working properly??
 
Sorry but not sure that thermostat has to do with oil leaking for prop area. Could you please explain. The oil leaking seems to be a light gray in color and darkens as it dries. Question for haffiman37, why do you think it is un-burnt 2-stroke oil form the sxhaust system??
 
2 stroke 101 -----------at idle such as on a hose in the driveway some fuel tends to go straight thru the motor and would then tend to condense in the exhaust housing , mix with water that is being expelled. --It then drips onto your driveway as a gooey mess and it alarms a lot of first time owners.--------------Trust the mechanic who resealed your motor ??
 
The gray oil would tend to indicate burnt/unburnt 2 stroke oil mixed with water from the exhaust which will turn kinda brown/black when the water dries out of it - lower unit oil is honey coloured when it's new (occasionally green).

As much as 30% of your gas/oil mix on a 2 stroke gets shoved out the exhaust port before the cylinder fires - it ends up in the exhaust housing along with the (leftover) burnt oil/gas after the cylinder fires. All that goop that lines the inner exhaust housing slowly slithers it's way down and out the prop.

When on the water it ends up in the lake - on the drive home it drops all over the road - in either case you normally don't see it.

The better you keep the motor tuned, the less the mess - but with a 2 stroke, there always will be some...
 
Just check the level and oil in the gearbox.
If level ok, nothing leaks out.
If oil not 'greyish/milky', no water getting in.
 
If it is unburnt oil/gas mix. How is this problem fixed? As dirty as most of the lakes are in Texas, motor flush is alway a good idea here. Is the gas tank lined with too much two stroke oil that it is pushing more than normal unburnt oil/gas mix? If so how would the tank be cleaned to help prevent this as much as possible. Do not want an oil stain as big as the boat in the driveway.
 
Outboard 101---------------------This sludge coming out of a 2 stroke motor like yours is just the way it is.-------------To solve this you have to go 4 stroke or E-TEC.---------------$$$$$$$ will solve it.
 
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