No Slack Posted July 29, 2003 Report Share Posted July 29, 2003 When I was putting my boat away yesterday I noticed a smear of gear lube on the lower unit. Close examination revealed a crack about an inch long in the housing below where the anti-ventilation plate is and towards the front. I have no idea how this happened. There is no sign of any impact, and I faithfully change gear lube before storing the boat for the winter. (engine is an Evinrude 88spl) Has anyone seen this happen before? To repair it I plan to drain and remove the lower unit, vee out the crack with a die grinder, and take it to a shop I know of that does welding on aluminum. Then I can grind the weld flush, repaint, and the repair should be invisible. Would anyone else repair it differently? This should be a strong, permanent repair. I'm just happy I found the crack before this became a major failure. I checked the area where the boat is stored and found no evidence of gear oil on the ground so I have to think this just happened yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kings over Queens Posted July 29, 2003 Report Share Posted July 29, 2003 You might wind up having to redo the seals as the heat transfer from the welding could cause a problem. I had a similar issue with a crack and was advised to replace entire lower unit rather than mess with the repair. #otterlivesmatter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1MOCAST Posted July 30, 2003 Report Share Posted July 30, 2003 My cousin hit a rock with his merc, cracked the lower unit worse than yours, had it welded and it was good as new, never had a problem after that. I'd go with the weld. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onthefly Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 I had a dent in my lower unit on 60 hp evinrude. It also looked to have a small crack. filled it with a epoxy putty designed for automotive use sanded and repainted has held up. OTF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael P Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 No Slack, Â What you describe is the best way to go about the repair you need to make. Additional homework for you though is to try your best to figure out how/why it happened to begin with. External impact, internal impact (broken gear?), faulty housing, electrolosis, inordinate cavitation, grossly unbalanced prop??? Lot's of things you cause this, especially if there was a sub-standard casting done when the housing was originally made. Good luck to you. Is it too much to ask to just breathe, be able to walk and go fishing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mako231 Posted August 22, 2003 Report Share Posted August 22, 2003 Did you store your motor for the winter tilted up? If you did water could have gotten in there and the freeze thaw cycle could have done the damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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