Home Forum Ask A Member ’58 Fleetwin Questions

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  • #10125
    mike-stroz
    Participant

      Pulling apart my Fleetwin today to do some maintenance and I drained the lower unit oil only to find it looks like a milkshake. It still looked full and I can’t see anyplace it might have leaked. Is there any common place for these gearcases to let water in that I should check? And I’m going to be putting in a water pump, carb kit, and some other basic maintenance but is there anything I should look out for? This is the first 50’s motor I’ve worked on, I normally like the 30’s and 40’s Evinrudes and Eltos.

      #77275
      seakaye12
      Participant

        US Member

        Leaks can occur at the shift shaft bushing, Drive shaft seal, prop-shaft seal and the spaghetti seal. Typically people pressurize the gearcase and check for leaks that way.

        Or; just get the re-seal kit and replace them all for peace of mind.

        Chuck in Santa Barbara

        #77277
        1946zephyr
        Participant

          Vintageoutboard.com has the seal kits for those at a reasonable cost.

          #77278
          mike-stroz
          Participant

            Ok, I might as well just do it all. I don’t know the history of this motor so better safe than sorry. I just hope I can get it all back together, it’s way more complex than an Elto Pal

            #77281
            rco
            Participant

              It’s well worth it to do the whole seal kit. When I first started playing around with 50’s omc motors I tried to fix a couple by just replacing what was obviously leaking and ended up redoing them. The shift rod o-ring doesn’t always show up in a pressure test, but they are almost all leaking after all these years.

              #77289
              crosbyman
              Participant

                Canada Member - 2 Years

                utube is your friend…. lots of good videos
                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA0u62hciwY

                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCkpGD4bgDI&t=18s

                Joining AOMCI has priviledges 🙂

                #77299
                fleetwin
                Participant

                  US Member - 2 Years

                  Yes, I would try to pressure test it before disassembly, even before pulling the water pump off while the gearcase is off the motor. While it is true that all leaks don’t necessarily show up on the pressure test, most will. Be sure to turn the shafts, and move the shift shaft up and down while testing… It is always better to pinpoint the actual leak before ripping the gearcase apart. Immersing the gearcase into a bucket of fresh water while pressure testing will help pinpoint problem areas also.
                  Once it is apart, have a close look at the prop shaft and driveshaft to ensure they are not "grooved" where the seals ride. Have a close look at the upper bush/seal housing as well to make sure the driveshaft shock has not expanded, the housing will usually show galling where the top of the driveshaft has been rubbing against it if there is a problem…

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