filling the drive with gear oil....

G

greenwell001

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just wanted to make sure before i get my boat out after an impeller change....

i pumped the oil in the fill/drain until level with the vent hole (alpha 1 gen 2)
put the vent screw back on and the put the drain,fill screw in and torque it


removed the vent screw and then filled my resivior on the motor up to the line and the manual says it should start coming out the vent and it never did....is it possible that there is a dry lock or something or am i ok to run it and replace what goes down after 15-30 min out on the water?
 
Bucks45

Bucks45

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Re: filling the drive with gear oil....

Did you trim the drive all the way up first?
 
G

greenwell001

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Re: filling the drive with gear oil....

no i did not is that the problem, i dont recall the manual saying to do that
 
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tractoman

tractoman

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Re: filling the drive with gear oil....

Is it supposed to all the way down when you refill. You might have an air bubble. If you filled it bottom up to the vent, and then did the reservoir, I'd run it on muffs for a little to see if the fluid level changes. You are probably fine.
 
Hansolo99

Hansolo99

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Re: filling the drive with gear oil....

Are you sure that is the way the manual says to do it? With mine I fill from the bottom till it comes out the vent hole, when it does I put the screw back in the vent hole and conitnue pumping till it comes up into the reservoir then I unscrew the tube from the bottom and put the fill screw back in and check the reservoir to make sure it is where it should be. Thant's it. Maybe check the manual again to be sure you are understanding right? I remember the first time I did it. Also here is a link....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KE10f3IlHI
 
J

John_S

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Re: filling the drive with gear oil....

Hansolo99 said:
Are you sure that is the way the manual says to do it? With mine I fill from the bottom till it comes out the vent hole, when it does I put the screw back in the vent hole and conitnue pumping till it comes up into the reservoir then I unscrew the tube from the bottom and put the fill screw back in and check the reservoir to make sure it is where it should be. Thant's it. Maybe check the manual again to be sure you are understanding right? I remember the first time I did it. Also here is a link....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KE10f3IlHI
Click to expand...

According to Mercruiser Service Manual #14 Alpha I Gen 2, he is doing it right. Step 7 is remove pump, and 9, (for gear lube monitor only) Fill bottle, when oil starts to come out vent tube, insert and torque vent plug.

That is the way I've always done it. From the video, it looks like that method works, but it is not the same as Mercs, unless there was a service bulletin.

I suspect it is an air bubble, as stated above. But if after a day of setting and there is still not any additional oil at vent hole, look for other issues, like a kinked hose.
 
Hansolo99

Hansolo99

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Re: filling the drive with gear oil....

On my reservoir I notice that mine has a float of some sorts so ounce the float is up I cannot pump anymore I have to put the rest in the top of the reservoir till it is at the fill point. Just a thought that maybe you filled it too quickly and raised that float before it had a chance to trickle down (remember that oil is thick)??
 
odie241

odie241

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May 17, 2010
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Re: filling the drive with gear oil....

Hello,was just reading posts,and found this one to be a very good learning experience,as i am going to change my lower unit gear oil on saturday,and the video was great to actually see it being done,except for 1 thing,my boat doesnt have a resvoir on it.Its a 1977 mercruiser,with power steering,the manual is hard to understand.Great post guys A+
 
Z

z284u2try

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Dec 11, 2006
Messages
91
Re: filling the drive with gear oil....

I have never seen someone push oil back into the res. There is a check valve at the bottom of that res. You would have to pressurize the lower unit to overcome that check valve. I am not one to pressurize the lower. That guy should at least not a option to change drain plugs or even the plug gaskets.
 
S

sethjon

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 8, 2010
Messages
692
Re: filling the drive with gear oil....

Did you fill it from the top or bottom hole?
 
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