Lower Unit Oil Leak: Fix with Epoxy?

[22R]

Sorta same but different subject. When I bought my Ally 21 years ago with the current XR6 it had a modified gear case. A few times out the bearing carrier spun and my local mechanic said I can fix it but it will not last on a Allison so I bought a Sportmaster and never looked back. The old case is still at my Dad's and I been wanting to ask if anyone here would be interested ? If so I can get some pics of what it is and if worth fooling with.

22R

[CI STV]

Thanks to everyone for their advice.
So, what I'm hearing is that this gearcase needs to be welded instead of epoxied and should be disassembled beforehand, in order to weld it properly. The general consensus seems to be that epoxying it is a waste of time?
It also sounds like there's a good chance that it was grenaded before, and, if so, the case might be practically junk, which I would only know when I pull it down.
Here's the thing though: If I was able to do all of that, I wouldn't have wasted the money buying this gearcase in the first place.
I already have a 20+ year old coned XR6 case, done by JC, which was never blown up, even though it still has the stock gears and carrier in it.
The reason I bought this one was to get the billet carrier and stronger guts, but it sounds like I ended up with a polished turd. For all I know, someone ran the sh!t out of it before I got it and the internals are shot to sh!t too..
In fact, I believe that may be the case, because although the builder swore that it was "freshly rebuilt and hadn't been run yet", when I got it, it was very dirty and had exhaust soot inside the exhaust cavity. I would've thought that he should've at least washed the damn thing properly before assembling it.
I bought it from an ad on these forums, and he bragged about how many of these units he builds for racers that he named that I had heard of before, so I took him at face value. mea culpa.
I'm going to send him an email now, and unless he fesses up and offers a sensible solution, I'm going to out him on here, and on every social media platform that even mentions outboards, and publish all his emails.

[CI STV]

Here’s what it is. A hairline crack over 1” long in the middle of a welded up area, right in line with the driveshaft:

Close up:

[Dave S]

For the $$$$ you spent you should not have these issues.......That crack is where the pinion bearing is. Who ever sold you that case must have a red face..........or no soul.

[NZ Sidewinder]

Cant wait to see whats in this box

[CI STV]

Sent the guy an email this morning. So far, no response. Just drained the oil out of it and it’s full of shavings and glitter. Pretty sure this is a complete piece of crap. Will post pictures of the oil later.

[LakeFever]

Sorry to hear that, I had no idea the area affected was through a bearing support im not familiar enough with lower units yet to simply eyeball that as some here are. I thought it was just the cone and a cavity area leaking. This is bad, hope you get it sorted out with the seller. Time to contact Greg I would think

[NZ Sidewinder]

Sent the guy an email this morning. So far, no response. Just drained the oil out of it and it’s full of shavings and glitter. Pretty sure this is a complete piece of crap. Will post pictures of the oil later.

Put some of the oil in a container and place a magnet outside the container to see if the glitter is steel or aluminium.
If its aluminium it will probably from the case repair and just wasnt cleaned out properly.
If its steel it raises a lot of questions as to the cases history

[CI STV]

I was going to use a magnet on it to see how much of it was steel.
Here’s what it looks like:

Spent the rest of the day cleaning up and then changing the water pump on my 20+ unit and pressure checked it for leaks, etc. At least I had that to fall back on. Just need to sand down and epoxy some small spots on it. It’s actually a much better unto that I thought it was.
The oil that came out of that was a little darker but looked much better than the new POS case and didn’t have any noticeable glitter in it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the billet carrier, like the new one, although I noticed that has all kinds of nicks on it too. This was definitely some piece of cobbled-together junk.

[phillnjack]

was this gearcase advertised on this site ? or was this bought through personal messages etc....
hope you kept all emails and messages to back up what you said about this gearcase and what it cost..
No doubt about it you have been bent over a chair and been good and proper shafted with this..
whoever done it aint no expert thats for sure.. 1st class bodgeneering job..

[CI STV]

was this gearcase advertised on this site ? or was this bought through personal messages etc....
hope you kept all emails and messages to back up what you said about this gearcase and what it cost..
No doubt about it you have been bent over a chair and been good and proper shafted with this..
whoever done it aint no expert thats for sure.. 1st class bodgeneering job..

Yes, it was advertised on this site with a number, which I used to contact him. I took a screenshot of the ad (see below). Don't worry, I saved all the emails/messages, including the email that I sent him last year when I got the case telling him that it had a small bubble on the side and had traces of gear oil on it. He said it was probably from air pressure from air freighting it, and that it was perfect when it left his shop. I didn’t worry too much about it then, which I feel really stupid about right now.
I sent him another email after that when I couldn’t get it to shift into reverse and he said I needed to turn the prop shaft when I was trying to fix it (which I had been doing) and use a socket and ratchet in the shift lever shaft. When I went back at it, I got it to shift into reverse, so I wasn’t too worried, but now I’m beginning to wonder if the clutch wasn’t sticking or something? The amount if shavings in the oil is unbelievable. I’ve saved that in a sealed clear glass bottle.
He still hasn’t responded since I sent him an email yesterday.
Here’s the ad, which was still up a few days ago when I checked:
Attachment 491569

[XstreamVking]

It seems to have been run with all the metal. Not a fresh build I guess. Sucks any way you look at it.

[CI STV]

It seems to have been run with all the metal. Not a fresh build I guess. Sucks any way you look at it.

The guy who sold it to me is insisting it was never run since it was built, and that he put fresh oil in it himself. I suppose that could be the case, if they never cleaned/washed the parts properly before the rebuild. The oil does look fresh, just full of metal particles.
He’s also insisting that the unit wasn’t leaking when it left his shop, although by the time I got it, a week or so later, it was already seeping oil and had a small bubble in the epoxy where that leak is.
He insists that the welding is where the original water inlets were welded up, and inferred that it can’t be leaking oil there, although it clearly is. That Brad of welding pretty much follows the line of the driveshaft too, as pointed out by other posters on here.
He’s sticking to the typical “I’ve been doing this for 30 years and never had this problem, and quickly points out he knows more than me, etc.
Now he’s trying the “how do I know it’s the same unit I sold you” and “funny how yours is the only one leaking out of 25 we (it’s now “we” instead of “I”) did this year” if I am trying to swindle him. That was one step too far. Talk about adding insult to injury.
I can prove it’s the very same unit he sent me and I can prove that it was leaking oil when I pulled it out of the crate that he put it in. I have three witnesses who were there when I took it out of the crate. And it’s not like these things grow on trees either. I don’t know anyone else in this country that has a coned XR6 with a billet carrier. I have an old one with stock gears and carrier, which I’m now forced to use (pictured below).
Hopefully that will hold up for a bit.

[XstreamVking]

Those small bullet lowers are too much trouble for me. But if you race I guess they are required. I hate to see anyone get ripped, and I can't see how a fresh built unit would be leaking oil. I also dislike vendors questioning the buyers integrity. I guess it's on us as consumers to verify quality as soon as we receive the merchandise. The world we live in today is not the one we would like it to be. "Buyer beware" is the only way to be.

[XP300]

The area of the crack looks of being welded on more than once (just an opinion)
Typically most will chase the point of origination into new territory on cast,
and keep piling more rod on it to get that feeling of "We Got it"

Best Out CI
and
Feeling Your Pain.


Really would like to see what the inside looks like