"Jim and Becky" wrote in message
...

Tell me a little about gearcase pressure and vacuum.

Jim and Becky,

It's a simple test, using a hand held air pump and another hand held vacuum
pump. But it's cost prohibited to purchase both pumps, unless you are a
service technician or you do this a lot and you love doing this type of work
in your shop.

The service manual will give you the specs for pressure and vacuum tests.
Usually the pressure test is about 10 to 13 PSI and about 3 PSI for the low
pressure test on some makes and models. Again, see your service manual and
don't take my word for it 100%, as I have not got the specs handy.

But the two tests will show if you have leakage in the gear case, and it
takes just minutes to do and is well worth the small cost. And as someone
else mentioned, draining the gear case of oil and examining the drained oil
is a good way to spot problems, as a gear case that has been leaking will
often show the fluid to be a brownish "milky" color, no different than water
being in the crankcase of a car engine.

Your service shop sounds like the place for you to be, especially with the
expensive purchase you intend to make. If this fella who is selling these
products had any smarts, he would have taken these engines and the boat in
to have the checks done, and gotten a printout to show that both engines and
the boat are in sound condition. That way, he could sell you these products
and he would know that they are sound and so would you.

Don't screw around with outboard engines. Often they look good, run good,
but a lot of times, the very basic checks point out serious troubles
internally and externally. Believe me, I've seen just about all in this
regard. I am sure others on this newsgroup can relate.

I hope it works out.