HELP! Just bought motor - ran well - rusty water in lower unit - want to use today

[fishinthed]

I just got a 1958 Evinrude 10hp (Sportwin 10) that started up and ran great when I picked it up yesterday (private seller), who said he'd purchased it in an estate sale, and decided to check the lower unit oil today, and change it if necessary.

Good thing I did! What came out was a small amount of rusty water, and a small amount of dark, sludgy oil. :yikes:

This despite the caps being on securely.

The most sensible course of action seemed to be to flush the lower unit with a massive amount of Sea Foam, and let it drain. So that's what I did. Several times. It is open and draining as I type this and round up some grub.

After it's well drained I intend to flush it with oil (Type C gear lubricant), then fill it properly with the oil.

Is this the right course of action? Any quick info would be much appreciated. :fish:

[Hotwired]

Before you fill it you might want to replace the prop seal, that is most likely how the water got in there.

[FishTales]

Sounds like that should take care of the problem for now.
Pull the prop and make sure there is no fishing line behind it, might have a damaged seal.
It may appear to look good, but normally there are two seals in there and they are back to back. One is to keep lube in the other is to keep water out.
If the seal is damaged you might want to change it before filling with lube.

When you fill it, make sure you fill it from the bottom hole until it comes out the top hole. This will prevent any air pockets.
While you still have the fill tube in the bottom, replace the top plug, then replace the lower plug.

I would suggest after using the motor you check the lube again.
Let it sit upright for a while, then take the lower plug loose just enough to let a little lube seep out, if you have water in there you will know it.
If you have water in the lube, I would change the shaft seal.
Rich

[waterfoul]

You could do that. Fill it up... use it... check it when you get back. Chances are the thing sat for some time (estate sales items often do) and the seals may be a bit dry and let a bit of water in. If you want real peace of mind change the prop shaft seals.

But if it were me I'd fill it up, leave it in the upright position for a hour or two and see if any lube leaks past the prop shaft seals. If no lube, go fishing!

[flinch]

The water came from somewhere and it sounds like there was very little oil in it as well. It is very unlikely that it will hold oil and also the parts inside are probably very rusty. It sounds like it will need some maintenance before being usable. You won't know how bad until you take the lower unit off and take it apart.

[fishinthed]

Thanks, Everyone!

When I was draining it I noticed some of the junk was coming out of one of the screws that holds up the lower half of the prop housing. It was pretty loose, and I tightened all the screws properly. I didn't notice too much rust in there, so I think the oil drained when the motor was in storage, and the water got in when the new owner tested the motor.

I'll take her out and see how she goes. If anything's not working right I'll just drift, cast, and use the electrics (2 x 50lb thrust on my 14' boat).

Thanks again, everyone. :fish:

[fishinthed]

It appeared the Sea Foam flush worked just great, and got all the water out. Thoroughly flushed the lower unit with oil, too. Filling from the bottom didn't work: too much oil loss, couldn't get the screw in fast enough. It was better to hold my finger halfway up the hole for the top screw, and make sure all air bubbles are worked out to fill it as much as possible.

There was no oil leakage evident, so it appears the loose screw was where the water got in.

I went out, and the motor ran well, and very smoothly. But really ate gas. Actually ran out of gas: 4 gallons in about 4 hours. It was running so smoothly I didn't touch the rich/lean adjustment until late in the day, and wasn't paying attention to the gas tank. Turns out it did need adjustment: got it going much faster by adjusting it more than 1/2 turn.

So it looks like the approach worked. I got in after dark, and will take a look at the oil when the sun is up.

**********

As for the fishing, it was slow. Only 1 hit -- but a very good one! Caught a fat 46 inch musky on my trusty 6 inch perch jointed pikie, while trolling slow (about 2.2 mph) with the electric after having run out of gas. Helluva fight that one. :fish:

[fishinthed]

I checked the oil this morning, and the oil all appeared to be there, with no water seen. Oil was a bit dirty looking -- probably due to residue from old oil and sludge being worked into it as it ran yesterday -- but smelled OK. I went ahead and drained it again, though it probably wasn't absolutely necessary.

So, things look OK, and good to go for a trip I'm making to Ontario for some toothy action next week. Thanks again for all the help, everyone! :fish: