Hole in gearcase housing. 93 johnson 50hp long

[Zeltron]

Hey all!

I just bought a 93 johnson 50hp long shaft for a STEAL! Only catch is that it has a hole about the size of a quarter in the gear case housing...... the rest of the motor is PRISTINE!

What are some options to repair the hole without breaking the Bank?

I don't want to spend more on a new lower end than the motor is worth.

[Joe Reeves]

Any reliable machine shop can "Heli Arc" (Aluminum Weld) and repair that unit. The cost?... show them the unit and ask.

The real questions are....... was that hole created by hitting a object or created by an interior fault? A$$ming that water entered the gearcase.... how has the interior of the gearcase been prevented from rusting?

[Zeltron]

I have yet to take the lower end off and take it apart. I am not sure as to any precautions against rust, however there is still some grease covering the gears and coming out of the hole. I am going to talk to a machine shop to see if they can do anything with it. Is there any patch product out there if they cannot weld it?

[Joe Reeves]

The strongest patching substance I've ever come across is the "Gray" colored "Marine-Tex", and the only place I've ever found it at were at Marinas, Marine oriented stores, etc.

At one time, just to satisfy my own curiosity, I had a 225hp crankcase (block) that had a baseball size hole in the forward side of it where a connecting rod broke loose. I cleaned the crankcase of course, then placed masking tape on the inside portion so as to keep the curvature proper.... then built up the outside with this product a layer at a time until it matched the crankcase's aluminum thickness, then removed the masking tape of course.

I then installed it on a friends boat, free of charge entirely of course as it was for my test purposes... and he didn't mind being the testie <-- Is that a word?

Anyhow, that was back in 1990 or 1991. Anyhow, that thing is still running and my friend is a happy boater.

[Zeltron]

I will have to look into that option! I'm definitely going to try to get it welded so it can try to do it right but if I can do a patch fix then maybe that is a good second choice. Thanks for the advice!