Stupid move....

I took apart the lower unit for my 1974 Evinrude 40 this morning, as it had a little too much water in the lower unit for my liking. There was a sloppy run of sealant, and I wasn't sure if that was a run from the gearcase seal (this is the older OMC 2 piece casing - the joint is even with the propshaft) or if there was a sloppily patched leak. Well, I pulled it apart, and luckily, all the parts seemed to be in great shape - no corrosion or wear, except on the propshaft, where a seal has chewed into it a bit. But, I did notice some sealant on the inside of the casing too. So, I dropped it into the parts washer, and got all the lower unit oil cleaned out, so I can inspect this. What I didn't realize was, the parts washer got all the paint off my casing. #-o #-o

Although I wasn't planning on repainting this one, I guess I will get the joy of doing this motor this fall, along with some of my 1940s and 50s Johnsons. #-o

Wanna take apart the lower unit of my 15 merc and fiddle around with the other side? hehe j.k

That sucks - well live and learn is about all you can do.

Experience is the best teacher, now you know, not stupid, just a part of life.

What you've learned is not that you don't want to put the casing parts in the parts washer but rather that you now know an easy way of removing the paint when you do want it stripped. Unless it fell off in sheets and now all the solvent has a bunch of paint floating around in it.