Oil oil everywhere

[Barr88]

Hi all! I'm new to this board and very excited about the wealth of knowledge here. I am working on an Ericson 35 that has been in my family for years and very much neglected. Just raced hard. I spent all last weekend cleaning a filth bilge. The a4 is obviously spewing oil everywhere. My old man tells me he's always had an oil leak in the reversing gear area. He thinks it's the grease seal between the prop shaft and the reversing gear. He says he's tried fixing this dozens of times and thrives a giant pain. So I'm looking for some advice on how to find the oil leak in case he is wrong. And second how to fix it. This is my engine learning experience. I have very little knowledge of mechanical work
Thanks
Barry

[marthur]

First, many oil leaks like like the rear seal because dripping oil often runs back along the motor and drips off the back of the reverse gear. Here is a link to a guide for finding oil leaks: Oil Leaks

Second, the rear seal does go bad on many motors. It is about a 30 minute job to fix it if the motor is on a workbench. I spent two days on my belly changing it on board my boat. Mostly because of poor access issues and trips to the hardware stores. I highly recommend you purchase the two special tools from Don Moyer.

If you buy the seal and tools from Moyer Marine, they come with a complete set of instructions for changing the seal. The only difficult thing is removing the coupler, and that is what you want the special tool for!

Good luck.

[hanleyclifford]

Welcome to the forum. The seal you mention will be a challenge if you are new to mechanical work but can be replaced with the engine in the boat if you have decent access. Typically the oil will be slung out from the rotating shaft and it will be obvious if the seal is the culprit. We love pictures here so if you could provide one it would be good (640 x 480 pixel).

[sastanley]

cool...welcome

Barry..your story sounds all too familiar to mine (the old man, neglected boat, oily bilge, etc..) - welcome to the forum.

marthur's comments are good ones. His point is that any oil leak may appear to be the rear seal, and because of the engine slant, all oil leaks accumulate there. Mine in fact was a rear seal, so I replaced it while I had the prop shaft off anyway. If I recall, the E-35's engine is in the middle of the boat, which will help with access a little. Although they are a little pricey (and unless you have access to friends that already own the specialized tools), Moyer's tools for the rear main seal will be worth the hit to the wallet. If you want to read my saga (I ruined a coupling getting it apart), search for a thread I started named "Indigo", complete with pictures.

Dave Neptune will be so happy to have another E-35 guy to help, he is the resident expert on just about everything A-4 related.

[Dave Neptune]

E-35

Barry, I toohave an ole E-35MkII with the original A-4. Is yours mounted under the cockpit or dinett?
As stated above many leaks originate somewhere else drip from the back of the engine especially ones mounted with a gerat deal of angle back and down associated with the mounting under the dinett.
Common leak areas are the valve galley cover under the carb and manifold, the area where any oil sendors mount is next and the oil preassure adjusting screw is a possibility. The water pump can also leak and is easy to check.
My rear seal leaks a bit and I mounted a cut diagonally 5 gallon bucket mounted under the drip.

Dave Neptune

[rpowers]

Leaky Rear Seal

Hi Dave,

I too have a leaky rear seal.

I have a small plastic deli pint container below it to catch drips, and I even rigged up a similar plastic "spray guard" to catch the centrifugal distribution of oil as it is slinged outwards from the drive coupler area. I catch all that oil and it collects in the bottom container.

-Rick

[Barr88]

Thanks so much to everyone for the advise. I'll be at the boat this Saturday to get some pics. The engine is under the galley and has a severe angle, always puzzled me about the oil levels in the front of the engine. Oh well. I'm going to troubleshoot the oil leak and will probably change the seal for posterity sake. Once again thanks for the advice and I can't wait to start my alternator battery and wiring convo.

[Barr88]

Dave any chance u have a pic of your diagonally cut oil catcher mounted? Is it easy to remove?

[Barr88]

I meant dinett not galley above

[Dave Neptune]

Not sure?

Barry, not sure where your engine is mounted, please confirm.
RE the cut in the bucket, I cut down the side starting at about the middle of the buckek and cut towards the "bottom" to use it as the dam and it is about 3 ~ 4 inches high. I used ty-wraps to hold it in place and don't need to remove unless I want access to the bottom of the engine. I leave a rag in the catch area and when it is soaked I change it out. I had no problem with the drip getting far enough to be slung around by the collar like Shawn's.

What year is your 35 and how are the engine mounting rails holding up?

Dave Neptune

[Barr88]

The engine sits under the dinett. Not much room there