Gear oil (I think) leaking from lower unit

[cchamp]

Hey all! Got a lower unit oil leak, I'm assuming of gear lube (maybe oil though?). Checked both my vent screws and its not coming from either. Appears to be coming out of the water intake vents on my lower unit (pic attached). Its not leaking much, but appears to be picking up steam. Was about to replace my impeller (and have the impeller kit with the 1 piece gasket) and assume there are some other seals that need to be replaced when I take the lower unit off that would fix this problem. What are those seals? This boat hasn't really been serviced in 18 years (its a 2003 I'm rehabbing). Runs perfectly...but what else should I do when I have the lower unit off? Thanks for the knowledge as always! Boat is a 2003 Stingray 180LS.

 

[cchamp]

Also some other pics of my new 18 year old brand new boat (with wife lurking in background). Looks good...now just need to make sure it runs good.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Remove the complete drive and service it accordingly

 

[cchamp]

Remove the complete drive and service it accordingly

I'm a bit of a newbie so detail what this means to me. Last summer I had the gimbal bearing and shift cable bellow replaced (other bellows should have been replaced but that is a long story). I will probably do the U-joints/other bellows etc this off season. Are you stating I should do that work to prevent this leak, or just as a matter of fact because of the age?

Right now I'm just worried about this leak, will definitely do all required upkeep that hasn't been done shortly. Just want to do what else I can do when I have the lower unit off.

 

[achris]

Gear oil leaking out of the water intakes can only be coming from the gear housing seal below the water pump base.

Remove the drive from the boat, split the drive. Remove the water pump and impeller, then the base plate. There you'll see the seal carrier. Dig that out (you may have to break it up into pieces to get it out). Clean all the surfaces and install the new carrier (with seals) you bought. While you're there, put a new impeller in.

Put the drive back together and pressure test it. Once you're happy with the pressure test, fill it with oil and put it back on the boat....

Most of the work has been detailed in my videos (link at the bottom of this post).

Chris..........

 

[cchamp]

Gear oil leaking out of the water intakes can only be coming from the gear housing seal below the water pump base.

Remove the drive from the boat, split the drive. Remove the water pump and impeller, then the base plate. There you'll see the seal carrier. Dig that out (you may have to break it up into pieces to get it out). Clean all the surfaces and install the new carrier (with seals) you bought. While you're there, put a new impeller in.

Put the drive back together and pressure test it. Once you're happy with the pressure test, fill it with oil and put it back on the boat....

Most of the work has been detailed in my videos (link at the bottom of this post).

Chris..........

As always appreciate the advice! About to tackle this. Wish me luck!

 

[cchamp]

Got it off, cleaned up, new impeller put in....cannot get the fu$#%$## back on. There is an obstruction about an inch out, I'm assuming I'm not lining the splines up on the impeller shaft? How do I work around that. Any tips are appreciated.

 

[achris]

Got it off, cleaned up, new impeller put in....cannot get the fu$#%$## back on. There is an obstruction about an inch out, I'm assuming I'm not lining the splines up on the impeller shaft? How do I work around that. Any tips are appreciated.

Watch my video on installing the drive? It is in forward gear (remote and drive), with the shift lever (on the top of the gear housing) facing straight? The slide lined up and the roller in the fork?

Chris.......

 

[isaacs]

I'm going to assume that you have put the two halves of the outdrive back together and are having trouble putting the outdrive back on.

It may be slipping out of forward gear--it must be in forward. I hook a bungee cord to the prop and wrap it counter clockwise around the base of the prop and hook it to the cavitation plate. This will make sure you stay in forward. The shift lever has to be pointing bow to stern in order to slide in; some lube might help in case it's jamming. Hard to describe, you have to look at the little U shaped thingy that hangs down and engages the shaft. It's difficult to see while you're installing the outdrive.

As you mentioned, the splines may not be lined up. You can turn the prop slightly counter clockwise to move the splines that are connected to the outdrive. You'll have to force the prop a bit to get it to turn. They will eventually engage with the splines on the engine and you'll be home free! Good luck!

 

[cchamp]

Watching your videos now to see if I misstepped anywhere (they are great BTW). So- boat WAS in forward drive but my 3 year old took it out at some point in time. I cannot tell you if that was before i removed the lower unit or not. He was playing in the boat while I was working on it etc. Its in forward now, the shifter is more or less straight forward (slightly cocked to the left but almost straight). Prop is locked counter clockwise, spins clockwise.

 

[cchamp]

I'm going to assume that you have put the two halves of the outdrive back together and are having trouble putting the outdrive back on.

It may be slipping out of forward gear--it must be in forward. I hook a bungee cord to the prop and wrap it counter clockwise around the base of the prop and hook it to the cavitation plate. This will make sure you stay in forward. The shift lever has to be pointing bow to stern in order to slide in; some lube might help in case it's jamming. Hard to describe, you have to look at the little U shaped thingy that hangs down and engages the shaft. It's difficult to see while you're installing the outdrive.

As you mentioned, the splines may not be lined up. You can turn the prop slightly counter clockwise to move the splines that are connected to the outdrive. You'll have to force the prop a bit to get it to turn. They will eventually engage with the splines on the engine and you'll be home free! Good luck!

Only took off lower unit. Did not take off the entire outdrive.


I think its the splines. I took the prop off to paint and service it and really could not get the drive to turn counter clockwise without the leverage from the prop. Will give it a go in the morning once the prop is dry/reinstalled.

 

[achris]

Only took off lower unit. Did not take off the entire outdrive.....

You're doing it the hard way. Pull the drive shaft housing off the boat, mate up the 2 halves of the drive on the floor, or a bench, then install the drive as a complete assembly onto the boat.

Chris.......

 

[cchamp]

Watch my video on installing the drive? It is in forward gear (remote and drive), with the shift lever (on the top of the gear housing) facing straight? The slide lined up and the roller in the fork?

Chris.......

Man, did not know you had all of those videos available. That is awesome....much better than anything I can find on youtube. So- the last part where you had to line up the splines to make it the last inch appears to be exactly what I'm dealing with. Same space etc. Has to be the issue (crosses fingers).

 

[cchamp]

You're doing it the hard way. Pull the drive shaft housing off the boat, mate up the 2 halves of the drive on the floor, or a bench, then install the drive as a complete assembly onto the boat.

Chris.......

Looks like i have another video to watch. HA! Will take a look.

 

[achris]

Man, did not know you had all of those videos available. That is awesome....much better than anything I can find on youtube. So- the last part where you had to line up the splines to make it the last inch appears to be exactly what I'm dealing with. Same space etc. Has to be the issue (crosses fingers).

Trying to mate up the gear housing to the drive shaft housing with the drive shaft housing still on the boat means you have a very difficult time seeing (and aligning) the drive shaft, the water tube and the shift lever, all while trying to hold the gear housing up and move the prop to align the splines. Give it up, remove the drive shaft housing from the boat and do it the easier way.

Having the drive shaft housing off also means you can check the unis (and grease if necessary), the gimbal bearing and the inside of the bellows. While it's off, do a quick check of the engine alignment too.

Chris........

 

[cchamp]

One thing I found odd was the fans on the impeller I removed went in different directions. Pulled water fine and I never had problems with it overheating.

 

[achris]

One thing I found odd was the fans on the impeller I removed went in different directions. Pulled water fine and I never had problems with it overheating.

That's caused by the engine just giving a backwards kick on shutdown. Nothing wrong with it, and the impeller blades go back to the right place when you start the engine again.

Chris.....

 

[cchamp]

Alright- it was indeed the splines not matching up. Got my wife to add a little muscle (god bless her) and with a little twist of the prop it slid right on like butter. Crazy how the little things are such big deals.

I appreciate all the advice and having people that know the right way to do things. In the end I didn't take off the upper unit because I don't have a replacement gasket and today is my bday and I'm hitting the lake. I'm going to do the bellows this fall and will inspect/replace everything then. Thanks all!

 

[achris]

You refilled the drive with oil from the bottom up, yes?

Happy b-day..

Chris...

 

[cchamp]

You refilled the drive with oil from the bottom up, yes?

Happy b-day..

Chris...

Absolutely. Ran like a top. Fun day. Thanks again for the guidance.