alpha one leaks oil, passes test.

[bansheejoel]

My alpha one gen 1 is losing gear oil out of the lower weep hole on the right side ( if standing behind it looking at it). I took it in to a reputable shop to have it pressure tested expecting some bad seals. I got the call today saying it passed the low pressure test (5psi) for 24 hours and passed the high pressure test (15psi) for 24 hours. They shifted the shaft into forward and reverse, spun the prop etc and it didn't lose a single pound of air pressure. What's the next step? Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[Grub54891]

The big question is, did they drain the oil from the drive before testing. It must be empty.

 

[achris]

Oil from the forward drain hole is usually the lower shift shaft seal. If that seal is a bit older then every possibility it is leaking. Did the shop test the drive as an assembled unit or the 2 halves separately? Personally I would have split the drive and done each half separately.

My next step would be to do the tests yourself.

 

[bansheejoel]

Yep the oil was drained, I drained it before I took it in. The test was done with both halfs together

 

[Grub54891]

As Achris said, the shift seal is the most common place down there, and the easiest to replace. I always test them myself.

 

[bansheejoel]

Ok, dug into it last night and think I might have found the problem. The lower seal in the upper housing, where the driveshaft slides in was so loose it almost fell out. I was able to put my finger in there and it pulled right out. It looks like it's leaking from there and draining down as the impeller housing and everything else in that area was SOAKED in gear oil. Since I have it apart and the shift shaft seal is so easy to replace I'm going to replace that to. Hopefully one fixes the problem!

 

[Bt Doctur]

On the Alpha1 the lower seal just stops the water, the upper seal seals the upper unit and keeps the oil in.

 

[bansheejoel]

Of course that's my luck haha