Gear Lube

[sychan29]

All...I think this is the right place for this message. Apologies if not.

18ft I/O, 3.0 Mericruiser. I noticed that the gear lube is low. I can just add some more to the monitor tub, right (vs. the lower unit)? Might be a stupid question, but still learning (and fairly retentive) so I thought I would ask.

Also the manual makes a big deal about not mixing high performance lube with others. I think that this is just telling me not to mix synthetic and non-synthetic. Anything else I should be watching for. Don't want to put something where it don't belong.

 

[Rob454]

Re: Gear Lube

I would jsut drain and refill the whole thing. Consider it the outdrive service if you havent done it yet, but yoeah you can just top it off if you wish.. I use 80-90W GL5 rated gear lube
Rob

 

[Don S]

Re: Gear Lube

If the gear lube in the reservoir is dark green, then it's the Mercruiser Hi-Performance gear lube. Don't mix it with other types of oil.
If your reservoir suddenly started dropping, you have a leak. You should pull the drive and make sure it's not leaking into the bellows. You should also drain the drive and do a pressure and vacuum leak test to determine where the leak actually is.
If it's leaking into the water, it will probably be leaking water back into the drive.

 

[sychan29]

Re: Gear Lube

Thanks for the assist. Luckily, I filled and the level is staying the same so hopefully, no leak.