First time Seagull owner!

[Greenfires]

Hi everyone,

I have recently acquired a Forty Plus with a small boat I purchased, and I was told that the gearbox required some work. As my main concern was the boat, this didn't worry me too much, as I had been thinking along the lines of getting a fairly recent small outboard to power it anyway. However, a few hours reading through the SOS site and this forum convinced me that I should do the "decent thing" and keep Johnny Deadfellow in his place by reviving this particular Seagull for a new life on the Lancaster Canal.

Anyway - the gearbox - which was removed from the engine and in pieces already did not look at all happy. Lots of corrosion and wear on the crown wheel - no eveidence of any oil being anywhere near any of the workings for quite some time - badly scored and worn propellor shaft etc etc. The shaft which carries the pinion gear was wobbling all over the place, and has so far resisted all attempts to drive it out with it's bushing as per the manual. So I've set that one aside for the moment.

Picked up a replacement on Fleabay which luckily turned out to be the right version. Lots of nice brown oily sludge inside, and gears meshing smoothly and quietly with very little slop. Result! However.......

In the process of putting everything back together - with a selection of nice new bits and bobs from the SOS shop - I noticed that the top flange of the gearbox where it attaches to the upper part of the unit - is bent! Viewed side on, the gearbox flange and the flange of the water pump unit are true with each other from the front of the unit until about half way "across" the exhaust pipe - which suggests that the parts which need to be sealed are in fact sealed. There is however a gap above the small exhaust "stub" on the gearbox casting.

The question is - do I need to sort this - and can I sort it without cracking the casting? I'm not sure what sort of properties it has - but I'm a little wary of trying to bend cast items.

Any suggestions or pointers would be most welcome!

Thanks in advance,

Andy

[Ian Malcolm]

Somebody has dropped the ****er!
I wouldn't try streightening it unless I could strip it fully and anneal it or knew someone in advance who was a dab hand at welding broken aluminium castings back together. If you hang out with the right sort of hairy @rsed bikers, try asking around to find out who they use when they've dropped their bikes

Check the face is flat enough with some printers ink on a mirror or other piece of good quality float glass, then reassemble with the gasket lightly greased (or your preferred non-cardening gasket compound) on the flat side, and *DEGREASE*, lightly sand both surfaces and sparingly apply good quality Silicone RTV sealent on the bent side, Assemble, knifeing a little extra sealent into the gap if required, let it cure overnight, test it and forget about it!