What you are missing is the big screw-up that OMC made.  Those cut-down cranks had stainless steel rings on them, similar to speedy sleeves, for the seal to ride upon,  Great idea, I suppose, however the stainless rings promptly fell off, rendering the seal useless.  Of course, then water entered the crankcase and destroyed everything inside.  Many didn’t even make it through the warranty period, especially here in salt water country.  OMC had to replace many powerheads because of this engineering snafu.

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joesnuffy

Would it be possible to have a sleeve made that you could epoxy to the bottom of the crank that could seal the crank. Just a thought.

Loctite has/had locking material we use to use on bushings and loose bearings…think it was green…bought from OMC years ago I believe. It needed to be heated up real good to remove what you were “glueing” in.

OK, here are a couple of my thoughts.  First off, I can’t remember whether those things split and fell off, or stretched or heat-expanded, or what.  I suppose 60 or 70 years is excuse enough to forget.  But I do remember removing gearcases for water pump service and finding the ring dropped down on top of the pump housing.  And/or discovering it too late, after powerhead destruction happened.

I agree, Locktite seems to be a logical solution now.  But was it even invented yet in 1956?  I do think they were pressed on or shrinked on back in The Day.  I certainly think I’d try the Locktite solution if I had one to fix now.

How common?  Well common enough that I replaced two or three powerheads under warranty—and we weren’t even Evinrude dealers yet.

Pretty sure you could see it if the powerhead is off.