Mercury 850 - Urgent Help Needed Please :-)

Hello Gents,

I am new to this forum so please bear with me. I am taking my kids out camping this weekend coming so I just pulled my boat out and discovered a couple of problems. If anyone is able to offer any advise/assistance I would sincerely appreciate it.

First of all, I have a Mercury 850, not sure which year. (Tried looking up the serial number but could not find the year). Please see the attached picture?SSPX0060.jpg? for a look at the engine.

1st problem ? Every year when I go to drain the gear oil to winterize my boat, my gear oil has that white milky film in it, I believe this indicates I have seal damage. Is this the likiest cause?

2nd problem ? This year when I went to fill up the gear oil, gear oil leaked out of a hole. Please see the attached picture ?SSPX0058.jpg?; the hole is circled in red. First question is; what is this hole and should it be filled with a plug or something? This never happened before I do not remember this hole, but maybe it was there before. The fact that oil is leaking out means that water can get in. I do not want to destroy my engine nor do I want to pollute the lakes even further with oil.

Last problem ? I have a small crack in my lower unit. Please see pictures? SSPX0061.jpg? & ?SSPX0059.jpg?, crack is circled in red. When running my engine with the muffs on, it appears gear oil is leaking out. Question, is this something that I can weld or am I looking at a new lower unit?
Thanks in advance everyone. I would sincerely appreciate any feedback. I really want to take my boat with me camping this weekend with my kids, but do not want to either destroy my engine or pollute the lake.

Cheers,

Christopher

Re: Mercury 850 - Urgent Help Needed Please

might need a lower unit unless u can weld real good

Re: Mercury 850 - Urgent Help Needed Please

Thanks for the replay mate, I appreciate it. So if I weld it and fix that any idea on the hole where the gear oil was leaking out when I was refilling it?

Cheers,

Christopher

Re: Mercury 850 - Urgent Help Needed Please

Hey it looks like you are missing a fill/vent plug. That should be a quick fix. But I'm writing about the water in your gear oil. The divit on the front of the engine doesn't look deep enough to be getting into your oil. Gear oil can get cloudy if there is air forced into it when the fluid is low. I have seen this many times in differentials. Just because there is some "foam" doesn't mean there is a water leak. Did water come out before the oil when you drained it? Second before going to town with a welder have you tried JB weld or the metal putty? The putty is great because you can mold it before it hardens. JB weld is more for a bit more experenced fixers when it comes to a vertical surface. Try the Putty and see if it holds. Just mold it to the same shape of the lower unit take off any extra before it hardens though you can pick it up at an auto parts store. Just some thoughts good luck.

Re: Mercury 850 - Urgent Help Needed Please

Hi milehighboater,

Thank you for the post, I really appreciate it. I will try the JB weld tonight and post back. As for the fill/vent plug, can anyone confirm this? I called a local Mercury dealer and they have a number of plugs. I just want to confirm what exactly this plug is before I start looking around without actually knowing what it is.

TX,

Chris