It’s always great to have a lathe. It gives so many options. I wish I had one.
If the intsaled seal has “flats” on it, I can’t say whether it will work or not. I guess if it passed a pressure test of five PSI or better, I would try and run it. When you install a speedi-sleeve, you do have to be sure that the rust is gone, enough that you are driving it over a shaft of a true diameter that the sleeve was intended to fit. The sleeves are very thin, so they are a little fragile until they are installed. They are so expensive, too, that it makes great sense to prep well. I have used 120 grit sanding strips to do this, because I don’t have a lathe.You only get one shot at the installation. Also, some of the shafts on Mercurys I have repaired have been so bad that, I have put a JB Weld-type product in the damaged area and then driven the seal over it before the material cured.
With ALL my engines, I change the gear oil after every single run, whether they need it or not. It doesn’t take much time and is about as cheap insurance as you can get.
Long live American manufacturing!
