1993 Evinrude 48SPL: Removing Upper Bearing

Repair or modification of Boston Whaler boats, their engines, trailers, and gear
Oldslowandugly
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1993 Evinrude 48SPL: Removing Upper Bearing

Postby Oldslowandugly » Fri Apr 16, 2021 7:30 pm

My 1993 Evinrude 48SPL had water in the lower unit oil after the 2020 boating season. I took the 1993 Evinrude 48SPL engine to my favorite repair shop to get [the gear case] re-sealed. The repair shop can't get the upper bearing out so the seals can be replaced. After two months of trying heat and oil they have given up. I told them I would give it a go since am retired, and I have time to spare.

From 2 x 4 lumber I built arms sticking out from my workbench to hold the lower unit securely. Them I liberally applied Gibbs Oil to the bearing carrier. I will start to drill into the carrier and try nibbling away at it in an attempt to defeat it.

I would appreciate any advice for a method or "a trick" for removing the upper bearing from a 1993 Evinrude 48SPL.

Jefecinco
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Re: 1993 Evinrude 48SPL: Removing Upper Bearing

Postby Jefecinco » Sat Apr 17, 2021 9:31 am

Have you considered cooling the lower unit?

If you have a large enough freezer you could store the unit for a day or so to get it down to around 0 degrees. Another option is using dry ice for direct application to the bearing area. I have heard an acetone ice mixture will cool below 32 degrees.

If you can put pressure on the bearing before cooling it and leave the puller in place it may even succeed.

If you can get this done with damage to the housing it would be a plus.

If you can buy a scrapped lower unit it could be advantageous to start over.
Butch

jimh
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Re: 1993 Evinrude 48SPL: Removing Upper Bearing

Postby jimh » Sat Apr 17, 2021 11:32 am

At one time I had a 1987 Yamaha 70-HP engine. The propeller shaft seal needed replacement in c.2003. The seal was the original, so it was 16-years-old. The engine had been used occasionally in saltwater. There was a large diameter circular aluminum retainer that was very firmly corroded in place to the aluminum gear case housing. The shop had to cut the retainer into pieces in order to remove it to gain access to the seal. Reinstallation required a new retainer part.

At another time I had a problem with a bearing on the axle of my boat trailer. The bearing failed under load with very high temperature. The old bearing had to be removed in order to be replaced with a new bearing. The inner ring of the bearing during the failure had been heated to a very high temperature and was more or less press-fitted onto the tapered axle extremely tightly. No amount of heating was successful in allowing it to be removed. The bearing had to be destroyed and the inner ring had to carefully cut so that it could expand and become larger, breaking the press-fit onto the tapered axle.

In both these instances the remedy for removal of a retainer or component that was otherwise non-removable was to carefully cut into the part to reduce its adhesion to some other parts.

This situation brings to mind an old joke:
    Q: How many therapists does it take to change a lightbulb?
    A: It only takes one, but the lightbulb has to really want to change.

I apply this to these situations of stuck components that impede disassembly: you can probably get the stuck component out, but you really have to want to change it.

Oldslowandugly
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Re: 1993 Evinrude 48SPL: Removing Upper Bearing

Postby Oldslowandugly » Sat Apr 17, 2021 1:41 pm

I'm way past trying to cool it. I am about halfway down using the drill/hammer/chisel/drill/hammer/chisel method. It is going slowly but surely. I just have to be careful not to damage the driveshaft or the gear case. At least with the aluminum gear case I can repair any damage with Marine Tex. It is the driveshaft that is made of unobtainium. So far I have about five hours into this so that translates to $500 shop hours I saved.

jimh
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Re: 1993 Evinrude 48SPL: Removing Upper Bearing

Postby jimh » Sat Apr 17, 2021 1:59 pm

Oldslowandugly wrote:So far I have about five hours into this so that translates to $500 shop hours I saved.


Investing $500 in shop labor to rehabilitate a c.1993 high-emission two-stroke-power-cycle engine might not be the best money ever spent.

You need an local long-time OMC dealer who never throws away any old engines. He probably has a gear case to fit your engine that won't need so much work, and I bet he'd be glad to turn into $500 in cash in exchange for yours.

Oldslowandugly
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Re: 1993 Evinrude 48SPL: Removing Upper Bearing

Postby Oldslowandugly » Sat Apr 17, 2021 4:58 pm

No gear cases available at local dealers. I asked around. These gear cases are pretty rare. Even at on-line auction websites the gear cases are either the wrong year or are in worse shape than mine.

Around here there are only a few old OMC dealers left, and my guy is one of the oldest.

And yes, I get lots of hard-to-find parts from him because he hoards everything. In fact when I bought this engine I was looking for an OMC 50-HP, any year, any condition. I started way out east and worked my way home. Nothing available. He was my last stop and he had this 48SPL. It had become available after I had already been to him but I gave it another shot and got lucky.

UPDATE: THE UPPER BEARING IS OUT!

It took seven hours of chipping away. This bearing housing was one with the gear case. Not a single piece came away easily. Now I have to repair the damage I did to the surrounding area--but that is what Marine Tex is for:The Mighty Repair Kit. I know this engine is old but it has been very, very good to me.

jimh
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Re: 1993 Evinrude 48SPL: Removing Upper Bearing

Postby jimh » Sun Apr 18, 2021 5:02 am

Congratulations on being able to remove the upper bearing from the 1993 Evinrude 48SPL. You persistence has paid off. I guess you really wanted to change that bearing.

dtmackey
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Re: 1993 Evinrude 48SPL: Removing Upper Bearing

Postby dtmackey » Sun Apr 18, 2021 9:30 pm

Sorry, I'm a little late to the game. In situations like this I use a air popwered high speed die grinder and cut through the outer race and once that happens they come out pretty easy with a hammer and chisel. Prob takes 20-60 mins depending on complexity.

D-

Oldslowandugly
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Re: 1993 Evinrude 48SPL: Removing Upper Bearing

Postby Oldslowandugly » Mon Apr 19, 2021 10:57 pm

The biggest problem was avoiding damaging the driveshaft. Any nicks or scratches would interfere with the seals. I don't think you could have welded this together better than the salt water did. Now I need to get the propeller shaft bearing housing out because so much debris got down into the gear case. That is supposed to come out with a puller. I have the right kind of puller but it is not working. I noticed there are four places to screw the 1/4-20 puller bolts into. I drilled two new holes in the puller disc so I can use all four points of leverage to apply force. I will probably need to heat the gear case while tightening the puller. This is becoming a huge chore.

Oldslowandugly
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Re: 1993 Evinrude 48SPL: Removing Upper Bearing

Postby Oldslowandugly » Thu Apr 29, 2021 7:22 pm

I took the lower unit to the dealer and he just rolled his eyes. He said I did a good job of getting the bearing retainer out.

He also said the exhaust bearing housing should have just pulled right out. The fact it is stuck means more trouble.

Right now I have the entire lower unit soaking in #2 oil (diesel). Hopefully that will soften the corrosion.