A Different Diagnisis Of Oil In The Bellows

[Swoosh3]

As A follower of this Forum and a newbie member I thought I would share a bit of what I experienced when pulling my
Mercruiser Alpha 1 Gen 1 Sterndrive for it's maintenance check.
There was oil in the bellows, I have read numerous threads covering this but, none have mentioned what is figured to be
my situation.
Since a pressure check was done and passed, it was deemed that the PO used a less than adequate grease in the gimbal bearing
and u-joints. As said many times before, any grease is better than no grease so, for the fact it had any, I am thankful.
Diagnosis: The grease that was used could not take the pressure and/or heat and liquefied into what very much resembles
Gear Oil.
Remedy: grease everything with a quality grease for the application, re-assemble and go boating.
Insurance: Check leg oil level before every outing. Simple, quick, and, peace of mind.

 

[Grub54891]

I agree with ya, as The great Bondo, says... Any grease is better than no grease. You can use water as brake fluid in a real pinch. Just don't leave it that way.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,... When the gimbel bearin' is greased, which it is often, because the fittin' is easy to get too,....

All of the purged grease falls into the bellows,....

Nothin' unusual 'bout yer find,... quite common on drives that aren't pulled for servicin',....

 

[crazy charlie]

I would be careful with that scenario.There is a distinct difference in the smell of grease and gear oil.I was under that exact impression when i found a puddle in my bellows.Especially since i hand grease the inside and outside of my bellows in every nook,cranny and crease .Never gave it much thought until I poured my old gear oil back into the quart containers and low and behold the quantity appeared to be a bit shy.Still didn't give it much thought convinced that it was thinned out grease.Mentioned it to my merc tech and told me to smell it for an answer.it was gear oil.Even though it was pressure checked ,the seal by the joints was leaking while running only.Pretty common he stated.So before you come to your conclusion ,take a sniff.that will give you the correct answer.Maybe take a taste too....Lol Charlie

 

[Lou C]

Maybe the answer is to turn the input shaft when you do the pressure check .....that might reveal a leak that a static test won't show. Same with prop shaft seals.

 

[Grub54891]

^^ I always turn everything when testing.^^

 

[crazy charlie]

And it smells like....????