Drained Gear Oil

[olcah]

Drained oil from lower unit of my 1956 Johnson 30 HP.   Oil is WalMart Marine Gear Oil.  It was put into the gearbox on July 19.  It was drained today, Sept 5.   The motor burned 25 gal. of fuel during this time.  I do not see frothing or water bubbles but when the oil was new it was light brown.  It would be interesting to know what other people may think of this drained oil.  Thank you.

[labrador-guy]

Olcah  that oil has water in it.   It still lubes pretty good.  It is not so easy to keep water out of our old motors.  If it were mine I would drain and change the oil occasionally.   Make sure you drain that milky stuff before frease up time.   Pulling it apart and reseal when you have time will not always cure the problem!   If your motor needs an impeller check,  you could tackle the reseal at that time.

dale

1 user thanked author for this post.

olcah

[seakaye12]

Some gear oil designed exclusively for Marine gearcases seems to possess the ability to separate the water from the oil.  When the drain plug is removed….water drains first then the oil.  I am curious what the designation is for this type of gear oil??

2 users thanked author for this post.

vintin, olcah

[Matthew Pieklik]

Taking apart the lower unit is a good educational project . Not really hard. Find yourself one of those portable work tables where the table is split and cranks open. You can open it and put the gear case up side down in it and secure it in place. You can also put it up right to do the impeller and drive shaft seal. Makes it easy to work on.  If you do one , You will be doing more . Make sure you replace the shift shaft o ring. That usually leaks. Invest in at-least  a pressure tester. 13 psi works for me.

1 user thanked author for this post.

olcah

[outbdnut2]

seakaye12 wrote:

Some gear oil designed exclusively for Marine gearcases seems to possess the ability to separate the water from the oil.  When the drain plug is removed….water drains first then the oil.  I am curious what the designation is for this type of gear oil??

If water is separating out, that is NOT marine gear oil. It is regular 80 or 90 weight gear oil for automotive and other uses. Marine gear oil has an additive that emulsifies water so it combines with it. This helps it keep on lubricating if water gets in. Separation sends water to the bottom off the gearcase and any steel parts in the water (like the gearshift fork in 1950s OMCs) will rust when the motor is upright, not in use, so non-marine gear oil should not be used.
Dave

1 user thanked author for this post.

olcah

[crosbyman]

(223) Vintage Outboard Lower Unit Gearcase Shift Rod Seal Replacement Johnson / Evinrude / OMC Part 1 – YouTube

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX1u6rtUE1M&t=60s

 

https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=d417dbd27d906ca4JmltdHM9MTY5NDA0NDgwMCZpZ3VpZD0xNWNlY2Y1MS1lMTllLTZlOGUtMjEyOS1kYzYyZTBhNTZmOTImaW5zaWQ9NTE4Ng&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=15cecf51-e19e-6e8e-2129-dc62e0a56f92&u=a1L3ZpZGVvcy9zZWFyY2g_cGdsdD00MSZxPWRuYmFyK2dlYXIrY2FzZStwcmVzc3VyZXRlc3QmY3ZpZD01NjNkZTcwNjI2NzY0NWVjOWIwMTEzMWMyODNmYjJkZiZhcXM9ZWRnZS4uNjlpNTcuNjYzOWowajEmUEM9VTUzMSZydT0lMmZzZWFyY2glM2ZwZ2x0JTNkNDElMjZxJTNkZG5iYXIlMmJnZWFyJTJiY2FzZSUyYnByZXNzdXJldGVzdCUyNmN2aWQlM2Q1NjNkZTcwNjI2NzY0NWVjOWIwMTEzMWMyODNmYjJkZiUyNmFxcyUzZGVkZ2UuLjY5aTU3LjY2MzlqMGoxJTI2Rk9STSUzZEFOTlRBMSUyNlBDJTNkVTUzMSZ2aWV3PWRldGFpbCZtbXNjbj12d3JjJm1pZD0xNDRBRDkwMzYwRjE5NTMxNUQ4NDE0NEFEOTAzNjBGMTk1MzE1RDg0JkZPUk09V1JWT1JD&ntb=1

Joining AOMCI has priviledges 🙂

[olcah]

Thanks also Matthew and Crosbyman,

I did replace all seals in that gearbox about 4 years ago including the shift shaft and prop shaft.  However when I do that job many times I find that the seal surfaces on the shaft are worn/damaged.  I usually just put the gearbox and new seals back together and expect that there will be some leakage.  Probably should learn to pressure test but if the shafts are imperfect I’m not sure of the value.  Usually I just change the oil 2 or 3 times per season.  I would appreciate learning  if anyone has a better way.

Not much info on the WalMart Lube:  Super Tech Marine lower unit gear lube SAE 80W-90.  “Use where API GL-5 is specified.”  About $7/quart.,,

[crosbyman]

apparently…..GL5 apparently containts sulphur … not good for outboard gears …is the answwr I got on a recent query

 

best to  just use   marine grade  gear oils

 

 

Joining AOMCI has priviledges 🙂

[olcah]

Crosbyman,

Hmm maybe that is why they say to “use where GL-5 is specified” instead of “meets GL-5”.

Hope you have had a good summer.

Thanks to all for the responses.

[crosbyman]

thanks ..my summer was  a real yoyo this year… rain sun rain sun rain sun …and black dotted gobbies have  pretty much killed of the perch  in our lake in the last 5 years .

I suspect perch caviar is a favorite…      saw them have a fight over a piece of red  fondue meat .   real pirhannas

…now common white fish have  moved into the lake…………..  never seen them in the last 60 years  I fished my lake.

waiting for asian carps  now….to make their way down  the St-Lawrence  river

Joining AOMCI has priviledges 🙂

[Author]

Posts