Water in Bravo one drive

[camalot]

It's a real strange one this, sure there is water in the drive oil that I need to fix. But after pressure testing the drive @ 15psi over night there was no drop it held all night.
So today it's still held 15psi and turning the prop every hour, putting it into gear (really can't see what that would do but I had to try something lol) nothing. Yes the oil is 100% drained, no play in the out put shaft at all.......even clocked it for run-out.

I must admit I'm stumped to how water is getting in.................................anyone else come across this?

 

[alldodge]

It's a real strange one this, sure there is water in the drive oil that I need to fix. But after pressure testing the drive @ 15psi over night there was no drop it held all night.
So today it's still held 15psi and turning the prop every hour, putting it into gear (really can't see what that would do but I had to try something lol) nothing. Yes the oil is 100% drained, no play in the out put shaft at all.......even clocked it for run-out.

I must admit I'm stumped to how water is getting in.................................anyone else come across this?

How much water do you think was in it?
When was the last time the lube was changed prior?
Was there any evidence of water inside the shift link or lube bottle connection?

 

[bruceb58]

Do you replace your plug gaskets every time you change your gear lube? If you don't, the water could have possibly come in the port you are doing your pressure test through!

I would also suggest doing a vacuum test.

 

[tpenfield]

Could you explain the pressure testing that you are doing in a bit more detail?

If you have the outdrive empty of oil and put 10-15 psi of air pressure into it, you could/would look for air leaks rather than oil leaks.

If you are pressurizing the outdrive that is full of oil, it might be a slower process to see evidence of oil droplets making their way through the seals.

 

[camalot]

How much water do you think was in it?
When was the last time the lube was changed prior?
Was there any evidence of water inside the shift link or lube bottle connection?

I can't give you a accurate answer as to how much water but at a guess about half a coffee cup before the oil came out.
Oil was change when I winterized it last year with no sign of water then.
No signs or water in either the shift link or lube bottle connector

 

[tpenfield]

Another thought would be if you had an air pocket in the upper part of the outdrive, the expansion/contraction of the air pocket during/after use may pull some water in the shaft seals, eventhough it should take it from the reservoir.

 

[camalot]

Do you replace your plug gaskets every time you change your gear lube? If you don't, the water could have possibly come in the port you are doing your pressure test through!

I would also suggest doing a vacuum test.

The washers are changed ever year when I winterize it so I'm confident it's not that.............but never say never right lol

 

[camalot]

Could you explain the pressure testing that you are doing in a bit more detail?

If you have the outdrive empty of oil and put 10-15 psi of air pressure into it, you could/would look for air leaks rather than oil leaks.

If you are pressurizing the outdrive that is full of oil, it might be a slower process to see evidence of oil droplets making their way through the seals.

I use a coolant pressure tester but instead of hooking it up to a coolant rad cap adapter , I've replaced the cap adapter with a screw in fixture for out drives. The oil is 100% removed and I'm testing throu the vent hole not the drain with no drop in pressure. In fact when when I unscrew the drain plug the gauge reading will drop as the air rushes out of the drain plug........had to check to see if my gauge was working lol
With vacuum it will only hold 5 in-hg before it starts to drop but really can't see that is telling me anything as the seals don't work in vacuum really.....................unless some can educate on that.

 

[bspeth]

was your bellows wet inside?

 

[bruceb58]

The seals do need to work with vacuum. When your drive cools down, there can be vacuum present and that could suck in water.

 

[tpenfield]

When pressure testing I just spray a little bit of soapy water around the seals and look for the air bubbles . . . Often the leaks are so slow that you will barely notice them otherwise.

 

[camalot]

was your bellows wet inside?

No water in bellows

 

[camalot]

The seals do need to work with vacuum. When your drive cools down, there can be vacuum present and that could suck in water.

Do you know what the vacuum reading should be by any chance...................................no reference in manual 28 about a vacuum test

 

[camalot]

When pressure testing I just spray a little bit of soapy water around the seals and look for the air bubbles . . . Often the leaks are so slow that you will barely notice them otherwise.

I've tried that but with no pressure drop there ain't no air leaking out.............but somehow water getting in over the year. I've even put the drive back on and tested it............still no pressure drop in two hours lol

 

[alldodge]

I can't give you a accurate answer as to how much water but at a guess about half a coffee cup before the oil came out.
Oil was change when I winterized it last year with no sign of water then.
No signs or water in either the shift link or lube bottle connector

So it wasn't milk it was actual water and then the oil came out. Was the drive lube bottle low?
It is weird but it could be you got something like fisting line in between the prop and caused a leak then went away. If it sat for a while in the water leaking and then moved on to the trailer it's possible. I would use tpenfields advise and use soap and pump it up to 18 psi if you still don't see anything. After 18 it should be good

 

[camalot]

After the water the oil had the classic light green color look...........................maybe it could have been some fishing line but it wasn't there when I took the prop off. I'll test it at 18psi and if it hold just put it down to a **** happens thing which I hate!!!!!!!!

The only other thing is the shift cable to the gimble pivot housing seal.

 

[alldodge]

After the water the oil had the classic light green color look...........................maybe it could have been some fishing line but it wasn't there when I took the prop off. I'll test it at 18psi and if it hold just put it down to a **** happens thing which I hate!!!!!!!!

The only other thing is the shift cable to the gimble pivot housing seal.

I think if it was there you should have had it mixed up pretty good by the time it made it down to the prop, don't see water coming out after that trip, more like milk

IMO

 

[bruceb58]

Do you know what the vacuum reading should be by any chance...................................no reference in manual 28 about a vacuum test

You know, the more I think about it, on a mercruiser, it may not be as much of an issue with a vacuum being created in the drive. There will be some water pressure especially at the prop seal forcing in though.

 

[camalot]

Well just for sh@ts and giggles I did a quick calculation for pressure seen at the seals @ 2 foot of water (under it) 15.58psi And 3 foot being 16.03psi. I still can't see the vacuum thing as you need a void for a vacuum to happen........and assuming you have gear oil in the case there will be no void.

The other thing with seals be it face seals ie o-rings or shaft seals unless they fail totally the more pressure they see the better they seal.

Maybe I should be testing it at a lower psi to see if I loose pressure, I realize that it don't change the fact that I had water in my drive but I like this kind of guff lol.