90hp Evinrude - lower unit froze-cracked... Can it be welded?

Question

Hi,

I have a 1980's evinrude 90 hp outboat, and I'm a big dummy. Parked my boat for the winter and did not drain the oil in the lower unit. Yep it split. Now I have a 1 1/2"-2" inch crack on the side of the lower unit, about 1/4" deep. Just as I saw the crack I remembered my friend telling me to be sure and change the oil before winter. I guess hind sight is 20/20.

Now what. Can I simply have to crack welded to seal the unit from letting oil out and water in?

Or could the expanding effects of the freezing water mess up the mechanics of the moving parts in the lower unit?

Is it even feasable to weld this part. It seems to be a real thin pot metal alluminum, I am not an expert, and could be wrong on the type of metal.

Any advice is greatly appricated.

Answer 1

No no no no no no!!!!!!

Take it to your mechanic or the dealer.

Answer 2

It needs to be inspected for internal damage. But yeah the cheap fix would be to have it welded. It's not like we're talking about a $20,000.00 E-Tech.

It obviously had a problem last year, that let the water get in, so that needs to be checked out also.

Answer 3

You don't need to drain the oil from the  outboard in the winter ,It shouldn't have froze unless you have water mixed with the oil  .. you should store the motor upright if it is outside, they usually drain them self .It can be welded by anyone that is good with aluminum .It shouldn't  be a problem.

Answer 4

I'll have to agree with the above answerers, it probably can be welded but with an older motor like yours I would think there are lots of good used ones around and that might be your best way to go. If the gears inside werent ruined from the water being there before last winter they will still be good as long as you havent ran it.

It's not horribly complicated but without a reasonable amount of experience I would strongly suggest you take it to a repair shop.

Dont beat up on yourself, you're not the first and wont be the last to have this happen. I bet you wont do it again.

Good Luck with it.