Oil in the bilge.

[Sailwood]

In an earlier post I described a major overheat on the season's maiden voyage. I never found the reason, left the t-stat out and she's been running fine since except for one big problem. When well warmed up, oil makes it's way to the bilge in quantity. I motored the Intra Coastal Waterway here in NJ from Pt Pleasant to Great Bay at the mouth of the Mullica River yesterday. Halfway there the oil pressure had dropped to below 20. Add 3 quarts of oil. Get to my destination, add 2 more quarts. Look in the bilge and there it all is. Could the overheat have toasted something? Seems quite probable. Additional note: I have a dripless "stuffing box" and had to disassemble and reassemble to replace the cutless. Could this have caused an alignment problem and subsequent rapid deterioration of the rear seal? There is a flexible coupling installed. If it is the seal, is it an in house repair or does the engine need to come out?

Doug Soden
ASPEN C29 #131

[Don Moyer]

Doug,

Yours is the biggest oil leak that I ever recall having been reported.
Hopefully you'll be able to locate the leak with an inspection mirror. The
last leak we heard of where the loss was even close to yours was through an
oil seal in a water pump.

Changing a rear oil seal does not usually require that the engine be removed
from the boat, although access problems can turn it into quite a difficult
job. As a point of reference, changing a rear oil seal with the engine on a
work bench shouldn't take more that a half an hour or so.

Here is a technical note we prepared on the subject of changing a rear seal
to give you an idea of what's involved:

NOTE: While the special tools mentioned in the following procedure (from
our online catalog) make the job somewhat easier, alternate methods are
provided in each case where the tools are not available:

1) Separate the prop shaft coupling from the engine output coupling. No
special tools required. A 9/16" box end wrench for the three coupling
bolts, and an 18" pipe wrench may be necessary to keep the couplings from
turning.

2) Install the Output Coupling Retaining Handle into the engine output
coupling using the three short 3/8" bolts in the baggy. If this tool is not
available, an 18" pipe wrench can be used to hold the output coupling while
the 1 1/8" nut is removed.

3) Flatten the ear on the flat locking washer under the 1 1/8" nut behind
the output coupling and remove the nut with a 1 1/8" socket and breaker bar.
After removing the washer, reinstall the nut over the end of the output
shaft to protect the threads during the next step.

4) Install the Output Coupling Puller using the three longer 3/8" bolts in
the baggy that came with the puller. The flat tool used to remove the nut
can be installed over the three bolts of the coupling puller (between the
coupling and the round part of the tool) to keep the puller from turning.
The coupling is pulled off by tightening the 3/4" bolt in the center of the
round puller. If the output coupling does not yield by tightening the 3/4"
bolt on the puller, you can sequentially tighten the 3/8" bolts which will
apply more pressure than the center bolt.

NOTE: If the coupling puller is not available, procure 2" fine threaded
bolts and install them into the output coupling until the ends of the bolts
contact the cast housing behind the coupling to push it off of the shaft.

5) After the coupling is removed, remove all 6 of the 1/2" hex-headed bolts
around the outside of the rear cast iron flanges. The outer flange is all
that you have to remove. The oil seal is in the center of this flange.
Take it to a bench where you can tap out the old seal and tap in the new
seal. The new seal should be installed so that the metal part ends up being
flush with the rear face of the cast iron flange.

6) Before reinstalling the flange, check the surface of the output coupling
where the seal rides. If it is grooved or otherwise uneven, install a
repair sleeve, or replace the output coupling. You will need a rubber
mallet to drive this sleeve onto the output coupling. I sometimes put a
little sealer (Permatex Aviation Brand) on the coupling before installing
the sleeve.

7) The Output Coupling Installing tool is in its own baggy (4 parts
including the 2 long bolts). The two long bolts should already be through
the part of the pusher which contains the long bolt similar to the coupling
removing tool. I like to string the rear flange (with the new oil seal
installed) over the two bolts of the installer, then the new gasket, and
then thread the two long bolts into two opposing holes in the rear of the
engine. Put a little sealer on both sides of the gasket. If the installing
tool is not available, you'll have to tap the output coupling over the shaft
until the large nut can be started to push the coupling the rest of the way.

If the pushing bolt of the installing tool is retarded back toward the cross
bar, there is enough room to start the output coupling over the shaft of the
reversing gear and hold the round part of the tool over the coupling and
between the end of the pushing bolt. The bolt can then be tightened to push
the coupling onto the shaft.

NOTE: The point of using this tool is to avoid having to pound the coupling
onto the shaft. The long bolts of the tool are also handy in keeping the
holes of the flange and the holes in the gasket lined up with the bolt holes
in the engine.

8) After the coupling is on the shaft far enough to start the big nut, you
can start the rest of the flange bolts to hold the flange in place, remove
the long bolts of the installing tool, and continue to push the coupling the
rest of the way over the shaft by tightening the big nut. It is best to
leave the flat locking washer off until you are sure that you have enough
threads to safely lean on the nut. When doing the final tightening you will
need to reinstall the Output Retaining Handle to hold the output coupling
while you tighten this nut.

9) When the output coupling is all the way against the stop ring on the
shaft (it simply won't go any further), tap one of the remaining ears of the
locking washer out over the nut.

Best regards,

Don