Did my lower unit get damaged?

[nokiddin]

Hey all.

Last fall, I was late getting my lower unit drained before a good cold snap. Afterwards I found oil had leaked from a hole just in front of the vent plug.

I had never seen this before so I was wondering if this indicates there was some damage inside from the freeze. Does oil leaking from that spot, or any others, indicate damage inside?

I have to pull the lower unit to change the water pump housing anyway, so just want to be prepared on what I need to inspect when I do so.

 

[racerone]

Pressure test the gearcase.

 

[Chris1956]

Your driveshaft seal appears to be leaking. It happens. Clean up and lube the driveshaft. Now replace the waterpump base, gasket and oring. It will have a new seal installed in it. Make sure you use the correct oring (there are extras in the kit), and that the base is seated completely.

 

[nokiddin]

Thanks so much for the replies.
I had changed the impeller about a month before this, I wonder if I disturbed the seal somehow when I was working in there and inspecting the housing. Anyway it sounds as if the process of changing the pump housing will fix this issue so that's great.

 

[nokiddin]

I'm in the process of changing out the water pump. I noticed that this area around the shift shaft was the area that connects to the holes where I saw oil leaking out as I noted above. Does this mean that the shift shaft seal is actually what is leaking?

 

[Chris1956]

Shift shaft seals do leak. They are easily replaced. I ground a 1/2" black pipe coupler into a spanner to tighten the new seal.

 

[Dukedog]

jus make sure tha shift shaft stays in place when ya pull tha seal out..................