Advice on using OMC gasket sealer.

[Monte NZ]

Hi there
I have been using the above sealer when installing new oil seals on the gearboxes of my motors and wondered if I should be letting the sealant sit for a bit (partially drying) after I have coated the seal and the area that the seal sits, rather than fit the seal straight away?

The reason I ask, is that there are no constructions on the tin and I have just replaced the prop shaft seal on the 1991 2.3hp Evinrude (Hong Kong manufactured) and discovered that oil is still leaking out……presumably from around the outside of the seal as the shaft is in good condition and I have no reason to suspect that the seal was damaged during assembly.
Unfortunately the design of the water pump housing obscures the seal, so that you can’t actually see where the leak is.

Any help much appreciated.

Monte NZ

[aquasonic]

Monte, you may be better off using Blue Loctite or Permatex Ultra Black for this application. I’m sure there are many other products out there, but these should be more oil resistant than the gasket sealer.

[fleetwin]

I suspect there is some damage to the housing that the seal sits in if there is still leakage in this area….Are you pressure testing to see the leak, or is it just leaking out on its own? The new seal could be damaged, or the prop shaft might be grooved or gouged. In any event, you will probably end up pulling this apart again, once you have confirmed it is still leaking…
If in fact the housing is damaged causing a leak around the outside of the seal housing. If this is the case, go ahead and use one of the heavier sealers aquasonic described.

[Mumbles]

The OMC/BRP gasket sealer is unavailable locally now so I have been using the similar Quicksilver Perfect Seal compound and yes, I do try to let it sit for a few minutes before assembling so the product will become tacky. I’m sure they both have alcohol in them and the more it evaporates, the tackier it becomes.

[jeff-register]

Jim or Don,
What is the pressure measurement for a common gearcase? I just bought the two vacuum & pressure testing tools,
P.S. didn’t want to hack the thread.
Thanks,
Jeff

[Monte NZ]

Thanks everyone for your very helpful replies
Aquasonic’s and fleetwin’s suggestion makes sense using a heavier sealer and thanks Mumbles too for suggesting leave it sit for a while (like I thought) before assembling. Thanks Jeff also for your input.
May I add ,that this motor going on appearances has had a terrible life and was headed for the tip. As it has good compression and chucks a good noisy spark I took pity on it………..my wife was not impressed!
One point that I hadn’t mentioned was that I had fitted a single lip oil seal before having just discovered that the correct gearbox seal is double lipped.
I managed to get the correct one from the local agent and have just finished fitting it tonight. Tomorrow I will fill the gearbox with oil and leave it out in the hot sun and see what happens. Unfortunately I don’t have access to a pressure pump, which is the proper way to do it. I did have the use of one a few years back, but the owner has since moved down country.
If it’s any help Jeff and the rest of you, I managed yesterday to find a PDF of the OMC manual for the motor and it said to pump up to 3-6 PSI (21-42 kPa) and put the gearbox in water to see if there are any leaks and if there are no leaks to increase pressure to 16-18PSI (110-124kPa)
I will report back after I see what tomorrows results are.

Thanks once again.

Monte NZ

[fleetwin]

Well, the seals are checked with a pressure setting of about 5-7PSI, vacuum checked with the same amount of vacuum… Gaskets, seals, and orings are checked at about 11-15PSI/vacuum…
The vacuum tester is only used on units with “back to back” seals.

[cajuncook1]

Monte, whatever sealer you use, allow for the product recommended cure time before you pressurized and test the gear case. Some are several hours to a day.

Cheers,
Cajun

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