Drive Oil Resevoir Empty and Drive Oil In Engine Compartment

Went to take our 2007 Starcraft with a Mercruiser 4.3, Alpha One Sterndrive out yesterday and when we got to our storage unit there was a puddle of drive oil underneath the boat drain plug. I looked in the engine compartment and there was a puddle of drive oil in it as well. The drive oil resevoir was empty. Cannot see any leaks visible. I checked the bottom of the resevoir for cracks and followed the line to where it connects to an elbow that goes to the outdrive with no luck for any signs of leaks. I refilled and ran it for the day and had to refill it twice. The uper unit was serviced and an engine oil change about a month ago and this was its second trip out. There was a little oil in the engine compartment when we ran it thefirst time, but I thought it was leftover from the oil change we had done then, but now I'm thinking a seal was not properly installed.
Any thoughts on what might be causing this leak?

Re: Drive Oil Resevoir Empty and Drive Oil In Engine Compartment

Take it back, and have them pressure check the drive

Re: Drive Oil Resevoir Empty and Drive Oil In Engine Compartment

Was the outdrive pulled from the boat during the service? If so, was there gear lube in the bellows?

Did you fill up the reservoir and keep an eye on it when it was dropping and look for where the leak was? If not, might be worth a look.

Re: Drive Oil Resevoir Empty and Drive Oil In Engine Compartment

Not sure if they took it off. There was no visible sign of leak during operation, although it seemed to only drop when we were docked and the outdrive was trimmed all the way up. I'm going to call the boat service place this morning.

Re: Drive Oil Resevoir Empty and Drive Oil In Engine Compartment

Sounds like the input/carrier seal on the upper. Just my guess.

Re: Drive Oil Resevoir Empty and Drive Oil In Engine Compartment

This is my vote as well. Pull the drive off and look to see if gear oil is in the bellows. If they are then you need a new input seal.

Failproof said:

Sounds like the input/carrier seal on the upper. Just my guess.

Click to expand...

Re: Drive Oil Resevoir Empty and Drive Oil In Engine Compartment

I had the same problem at the beginning of this season.........

The tube at the bottom of the resivoir was loose and leaking........
Did you remove the bottle and actually inspect it?

Hope your problem was as simple as mine......

Re: Drive Oil Resevoir Empty and Drive Oil In Engine Compartment

Failproof said:

Sounds like the input/carrier seal on the upper. Just my guess.

Click to expand...

Thanks for all the info, this will give me a great place to start. I'll let you know what I found.

Re: Drive Oil Resevoir Empty and Drive Oil In Engine Compartment

Can anyone provide me with a guide to replace this seal?

Re: Drive Oil Resevoir Empty and Drive Oil In Engine Compartment

http://boatinfo.no/lib/mercruiser/manuals/mercruiser14.html#/0

Look through there.