Gear Lube Seal Problems

[zul]

2 big lake trips, no water in gear lube.
Last 2 lake trips, water. Now I'm doing my 3rd gear lube replacement in 3 months.

Last year, I purchased some of the yellow seals for the drain/fill plug. They are plastic or silicon and pliable. Several people raved that they work great, so I bought a bunch of them. Now, I'm getting water in the lube. It seems that as I make the final tighten on the plug, these things pinch and squirm around -- and fail. To top that off, the ones that I have in the garage are 6-7 months old. I've kept them in a zip lock bag. They are no longer pliable -- stiff as a board. Can't use them.

Luckily, I have a few of the standard seals as well. One them is stiff. And one is still pliable -- so I'll be using that one.

Am I the only one having this issue? Is sucks having to toss 1/2 gallon of new lube because the seal failed. I guess that I am looking for some tricks and tips on these seals. And I'll probably go back to using the older standard type seal.


Yellow seal is a Quicksilver 26-830749

 

[JoLin]

Pressure test the drive before you refill it again. I've used the blue(?) seals and the yellow seals and they didn't leak. I wouldn't just assume that the drive is leaking at the vent or fill plugs.

My .02

 

[zul]

Wondering if there is any way to really clean out the gear lube resv? It looks cloudy and milky after having gravity take out the old. A friend told me to send some diesel fuel through there ... hmmm ... I'd like a second on that. Any ideas?

thx!

 

[zul]

Yes, I knew that suggestion was coming. And rightfully so. Ugh. I've got the pressure tool and all. Pull the drive? Alright.

 

[GA_Boater]

Don't pull the drive. Pressure test in place. You will be mighty ticked if it is failing fill/vent plugs seals.

 

[scoflaw]

Take the resvoir off and clean it out good, blow the line out while it's off.

 

[JoLin]

What GA_Boater said. Leave the drive on. There's another place to check. Does your drive have the top plate (it's held on by 4 bolts) that also holds the dipstick? I found a leak there 2 years ago. The dipstick seal looked like it hadn't been replaced in many years.

My .02

 

[achris]

Can't pressure test a Gen II drive with a reservoir, installed. Has to come off, unless you pinch off the hose...

 

[alldodge]

Yellow seal is a Quicksilver 26-830749
1994 Sea Ray 180 4.3L carb'd

My take on the issue:
You have a 1994 Alpha Gen 2 drive, and that drive requires 12-191833 fiber washer or 25-805726 O-ring. Not sure but don't know where the O-ring would be used, maybe a different plug. The next serial number break (96-97 and 98 and higher) does not list the O-ring

Bravo drives starting with 0W250000 (swept back - newest ones) and up use the new yellow seals

 

[Rick Stephens]

My take on the issue:
You have a 1994 Alpha Gen 2 drive, and that drive requires 12-191833 fiber washer or 25-805726 O-ring. Not sure but don't know where the O-ring would be used, maybe a different plug. The next serial number break (96-97 and 98 and higher) does not list the O-ring

Bravo drives starting with 0W250000 (swept back - newest ones) and up use the new yellow seals

My '92 Gen2 uses o-rings. Has a slot cut up into the screw head for the o-ring to fit into.

 

[alldodge]

My '92 Gen2 uses o-rings. Has a slot cut up into the screw head for the o-ring to fit into.

The first Gen 2 serial number listing is 0D469859 THRU 0F679999 for 91 to 95 and your drive is in that listing

 

[zul]

Ya' - I had outdrive issues 2 years ago. Pure hell. I'll pull it for piece of mind. My next trip is longer hours/miles and I'd hate to pull up lame with water in there.

With a 90% chance that the outdrove WILL hold air, do I really need to pull it? I've got everything ready to pull and the final pull off of the threaded bolts is REALLY hard. I've been pulling and pulling with a team of people and it won't come off.

Can't I just blame these yellow seals and move on? I'm just frustrated. Damn thing won't come off. Videos make it look so easy. Ergh.

 

[alldodge]

Can't I just blame these yellow seals and move on?

Sure.... but doubt it will help

Damn thing won't come off.

Place a block of wood on top the drive (maybe 2x4) between bell housing and transom assembly. Then raise the drive using the trim and it should help get it off. Can also place the wood between the bottom of the drive and let the drive push out from the bottom

 

[zul]

AllDodge - Wood block helped. Still not off yet. What about placing a few jacks under the axel so I can get a straight pull?

 

[GA_Boater]

What gear should you be in to pull the drive?

 

[achris]

AllDodge - Wood block helped. Still not off yet. What about placing a few jacks under the axel so I can get a straight pull?

You're attempting to pull the drive off without it being level? If you understand geometry, you'll know that's not the way they come off. You MUST have the drive straight and fully DOWN....

Chris......

 

[zul]

Forward. Neutral Forward or reg forward?

 

[achris]

Must be in forward.... Have you watched any videos or read the manual?

Chris..........

 

[GA_Boater]

Forward. Neutral Forward or reg forward?

What? There is only one forward.

 

[zul]

There is Forward and then there is Neutral Forward. We are going w forward and twisting the prop shaft counterclockwise to ensure that we are getting those bits lined up best possible.

I have watched all of the achris videos. Many times.

Seems while in forward, we can see that it is 'lined up' in the middle of the outdrive (the L bracket in the slot). So that looks good.

The plastic and metal bracket inside the outdrive seems to be hanging up, these parts are on the starboard side of the drive. I believe these parts are hanging up. Stuck. Push the drive back in, neutral and back to Forward. Still stuck. We can get about an inch.

We have the trailer axle jacked up about three inches so that we are level. The drive is all the way down.

Still stuck. Thanks for the help, everyone.