Mercruiser outdrive with water in it

lea

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Oct 24, 2010
Messages
43
I have a alpha one gen two that has a leak in it someplace. I changed the oil in it and the old oil was more of an emulsion than oil, I didn't have the proper setup to pressure test it so I replaces oil and did a sea trial, well as you can probably guess more emulsion. So I took the drive pff and found the drive shaft bellows full of emulsion to, upon closer inspection I found the retaining nut loose on the drive shaft, I figured tighten it up and problem should be solved. Am I missing something in my assumption ? Then I got to thinking if oil was leaking out of the front of drive it would be straight oil, but this is a well mixed oil water emulsion , so there must be water getting in from somewhere else. The bellows was right full of this , there is no leaks in the bellows
I guess to figure it out I will have pressure test, my question is to what pressure and for how long
Thanks
 

Bt Doctur

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Aug 29, 2004
Messages
19,093
oil leakage found in the bellow comes from the inputshaft carrier seal.. That happens because water was in the bellow from outside leakage or a high bilge water level at some point.Whoever worked on it last did not torque it to 200Ft/Lbs.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
47,304
drain it, pressurize to 15 psi. I like to go overnight
 

Grub54891

Vice Admiral
Joined
Jun 17, 2012
Messages
5,908
If that driveshaft nut was loose, it may have damaged the gears in the case also. A trip to a good rebuild shop should be the next step. Unless you are mechanically inclined and have the proper tools/manuals to check it out yourself.
 

lea

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Oct 24, 2010
Messages
43
I agree with all your responses, but I also have the same emulsion in lower unit. How would water get in there?
 

lea

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Oct 24, 2010
Messages
43
Should I assume I have two problems? Oil leaking out of front of drive and water entering lower unit somewhere else?
 

Alumarine

Captain
Joined
Feb 22, 2005
Messages
3,684
Last edited:

nola mike

Vice Admiral
Joined
Apr 22, 2009
Messages
5,023
Should I assume I have two problems? Oil leaking out of front of drive and water entering lower unit somewhere else?
Not necessarily. Water in the bellows can make it past a healthy input shaft seal. However, you may have 2 problems if the retaining nut was loose,,,not sure what/if any damage that would cause. Sounds like you're dodging a lot of bullets so far.
 

enginesilo

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 9, 2008
Messages
355
Like everyone said, sounds like a seal somewhere. Your best bet is to pressure test it and see if it holds. If it doesn't spray a soapy water solution and see if you can find bubbles. I had a shift shaft seal leaking on mine a season or two back and I found the problem by splitting the drive, pressure testing, and spraying it to find where it made bubbles. These drives aren't all that hard to work on and while you have it split apart I would consider redoing your impeller while its all accessible if you haven't done it in a while.
 

lea

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Oct 24, 2010
Messages
43
This morning I put the two halves of the unit back together and dropped it off at the dealer because of time constraints on my part. Of course I haven't heard from them ,and probably won't for a week..... I guess I'm just stupid. I should have known better when they asked if I could leave it for a hour
 

Grub54891

Vice Admiral
Joined
Jun 17, 2012
Messages
5,908
You may hear from them, sometimes they are busy, an hour isn't long. Call them the next day and see.
 
Top