Black Molasses and a bird nest

[crosbyman]

working on a nice 59 5.5hp Evinrude (90 psi each cyl… probably 95psi since I am using a hose ended meter )

found good coils points condensers

when I pulled the prop… out came a 1 inch thick bird nest of fishing line 🙁 behind the prop …. so much for seasonnal greasing of the prop shaft ! nothing near or inside the oil seal

when I checked the gearcase oil….nothing….. till I unscrewed the top plug & slowwwly… out came a real heavy molasses like charcoal black goo ? no water was found not a drop

Either the wrong oil was used or never changed across many years ?

Q- was there such a thick ..black oil used in years past ? or was does this goo date back to the dinosaur swamps ?

[attachment file=”226212″]

• This topic was modified 4 years ago by Mumbles.

[bobw]

I had one recently where the gearcase oil was also very dirty, thick, black sludgy oil with no water evident. And boy, did it stink. Guess it was just really old gear oil. See pics.

[attachment file=”226215″]

[attachment file=”226216″]

• This reply was modified 4 years ago by Mumbles.

[frankr]

Looks like somebody filled it with the old Outboard Gear gear grease used before hypoid oil?

[dave-bernard]

The good stuff.

[crosbyman]

bobw…

exactly what I found…black goo

I tried to flush it it fresh 90 grade oil and later with a few shot of WD40 but neither seemed to intermix much with the stuff

I refilled the gc with 90 grade oil and will run it in the Spring then dump it and reload with fresh clean oil… a few times if need be. .

[nj-boatbuilder57]

The first vintage engine I ever rebuilt (’53 Super Fastwin) was like this. Some previous owner had packed the gearcase with bearing grease, then ran it for years, turning it into sludge. Molasses is a good way to describe it.

Happily, my company had a de-greasing machine; several ‘rides’ through the machine by the disassembled components made the gears and gearcase usable.

• This reply was modified 4 years ago by nj-boatbuilder57.

[crosbyman]

thanks for info. Since I found no water it looks like the GC is sealing and do not plan on openning it up . A couple of runs with a fresh reload of oil should clean it up if not i’ll try lighter marvel oil or just plain diesel fuel for a few minutes then refill with 90 grade.

Aside from the bird nest and goo…. the “provenance” info and engine overall condition gives me confidence this was a single owner engine all these years . A qwick peek inside ….behind the reed plate showed an amazingly clean engine .

90-95 psi is the highest I have ever reached on more than a dozen or so oldies i’ve fixed up back to life.

time will tell. I converted it to a round B&S pump (sorry guys) , new plug wires /boots , timed it up with “the RW tool” ..all it needs now is a boat and a lake.

btw if anybody wants to swap some dual engine side connectors for singles ….. 🙂

[attachment file=”226246″]

[attachment file=”226247″]

[attachment file=”226248″]

• This reply was modified 4 years ago by crosbyman.
• This reply was modified 4 years ago by Mumbles.

[Mumbles]

When I come across thick old oil like this, I’ve found heating up the gearcase with a heat gun loosens it up so it will flow out better. Then letting the motor idle in neutral for a few minutes with 10W 30 or whatever motor oil is available before draining it again will help remove whatever is left of the old stuff before refilling with the correct gear oil.

Ii would loved to have seen the look on these anglers faces when they thought they had hooked the big one years ago!

[attachment file=”226262″]

[attachment file=”226263″]

[attachment file=”226264″]

[crosbyman]

that top picture is a twin brother of my bird nest !!! 50 yarder ! 🙂

thanks for the warm up trick I will do exactly that come Spring time……wify would not like smoke or smell in the basement 🙂

• This reply was modified 4 years ago by crosbyman.

[Buccaneer]

Set the hook Ole, you got a big one!

[Author]

Posts