how to add gear lube

[jpbrown3]

Pretty big newbie here...........I need to add gear lube to the drive unit and it says to make sure the trim level is in full out position.....how can i add the gear lube when it is in the out position? is there a special flexible hose that i attach to the bottle to get it in the drive unit? because it looks imposible to do....i have an alpha one....

when they say make sure it is in the out position, they mean the unit being all the way down correct? this is why i do not get how to put the lube in the drive unit.....any help would be great, thanks!

 

[jpbrown3]

Re: how to add gear lube

Ok,
i think i just answered my own question after reading it.....

is this what im looking for?

http://www.sterndrive.info/oil_pump.html

 

[4winnsskipper]

Re: how to add gear lube

Pretty big newbie here...........I need to add gear lube to the drive unit and it says to make sure the trim level is in full out position.....how can i add the gear lube when it is in the out position? is there a special flexible hose that i attach to the bottle to get it in the drive unit? because it looks imposible to do....i have an alpha one....

when they say make sure it is in the out position, they mean the unit being all the way down correct? this is why i do not get how to put the lube in the drive unit.....any help would be great, thanks!

basically have the drive in run position (down but not all the way down) so its level. then add lube from the bottom plug, making sure to remove the top plug (vent). this way no air is in the fluid and you get a more accurate fill. im not sure if the alpha drives have a dipstick but fill it till it spues out the vent hole, then cap both of them and check fluid level, let settle for a few mins and add if necesary.

 

[4winnsskipper]

Re: how to add gear lube

Ok,
i think i just answered my own question after reading it.....

is this what im looking for?

http://www.sterndrive.info/oil_pump.html

no, but similar, go to your dealer, get a pump for a mercruiser alpha drive , and appropriate gear lube, and follow above instructions

 

[Don S]

Re: how to add gear lube

Ok,
i think i just answered my own question after reading it.....

is this what im looking for?

http://www.sterndrive.info/oil_pump.html

Can't answer any of your questions without knowing what engine and outdrive you have. More than once I have seen people try to fill a Merc like an OMC, or a Volvo like a Merc. Usually with expensive problems happening after the drive fails from lack of lubrication.

 

[jpbrown3]

Re: how to add gear lube

thanks for the quick response!!!

not to be a pest but why wouldnt that oil pump work? it says it fits mercruiser alpha one......

 

[jpbrown3]

Re: how to add gear lube

i have a alpha one drive mercruiser

 

[Don S]

Re: how to add gear lube

basically have the drive in run position (down but not all the way down) so its level. then add lube from the bottom plug, making sure to remove the top plug (vent). this way no air is in the fluid and you get a more accurate fill. im not sure if the alpha drives have a dipstick but fill it till it spues out the vent hole, then cap both of them and check fluid level, let settle for a few mins and add if necesary.

How can you say that without knowing what drive he actually has.
You fill a Cobra like that and loose the drive.

 

[4winnsskipper]

Re: how to add gear lube

thanks for the quick response!!!

not to be a pest but why wouldnt that oil pump work? it says it fits mercruiser alpha one......

well it should then i suppose. follow Don's advice, due to my inexperience i may have informed you of a wrong way of doing, i've filled my outboards i've had and my volvo the same, now im finding mercruisers fill different?

 

[jpbrown3]

Re: how to add gear lube

4winns....

im reading the manual right now and it is saying exactly what you said...

besides getting one from a dealer, do you know where else i can find an oil pump for an alpha one?

 

[4winnsskipper]

Re: how to add gear lube

4winns....

im reading the manual right now and it is saying exactly what you said...

besides getting one from a dealer, do you know where else i can find an oil pump for an alpha one?

thats the most used method of fill, but good idea, as you did, to read your owners manual. my SX cobra outdrive also wants to be filled according to my ownerss oem manual as outlined............

as far as oil pumps, just about any marine store should have what you need. not sure where you live but west marine here , skipper buds, etc have them. i recomend local, you can double check, return, etc instead of waiting for a part to arrive and hope its the right one. just my two cents.

 

[jpbrown3]

Re: how to add gear lube

thanks, i have a couple local shops around here i will check...thanks!

also....for the vent screw and and oil fill/drain screw i do not have the sealing washers.....must have lost them along the way.....this is a 1990 boat and who knows how long they have been missing...

are these really needed? if so, could someone point me in the right direction on about getting some of these? or is there a cheap alternative?


thanks again

 

[4winnsskipper]

Re: how to add gear lube

thanks, i have a couple local shops around here i will check...thanks!

also....for the vent screw and and oil fill/drain screw i do not have the sealing washers.....must have lost them along the way.....this is a 1990 boat and who knows how long they have been missing...

are these really needed? if so, could someone point me in the right direction on about getting some of these? or is there a cheap alternative?


thanks again

i cant speak for your alpha, my volvo has rubber o rings that seal. no matter what, go to your local mercruiser dealer and get them, do not use another alternative or nonne at all, else water will get into your drive and ruin it rather fast. the seals are cheap and are VERY important. do not use any other sealer on them, just use what the manufactors uses, whether they be washers or o-rings. period.

try this link http://www.mercurypartsexpress.com/PartsExpress/HomePage/homepage.asp

 

[Jakester79]

Re: how to add gear lube

4winns,
the link you posted was very bennificial to me, now I can look parts up and order them with out having to go down to the local boat shop. Again thanks for the link.

 

[jpbrown3]

Re: how to add gear lube

can you only search by serial number on this site?

that is kind of a problem right now, because the boat is up in wisconsin and im in illinois.....is there a bogus number that i can use?

i have a mercruiser 3.0 alpha one drive on a 90 bayliner capri

 

[4winnsskipper]

Re: how to add gear lube

4winns,
the link you posted was very bennificial to me, now I can look parts up and order them with out having to go down to the local boat shop. Again thanks for the link.

no problem man, glad i could help. im still learning also, been boating all my life but these I/O's are a new world to me, seems the outboard route is an easier way to go, although the I/O's are nice and quite and the no exhaust in my face is also nice!!

 

[Coors]

Re: how to add gear lube

Walmart sells the pump; buy a factory manual.

 

[catchbats]

Re: how to add gear lube

My 00' Four Winns manual says that you can just add oil through the top plug if your just topping off. If you do a complete drain and fill, then do it from the bottom.