Suzuki outboard: Trouble with lower unit oil...

[mike17]

Ok, I went to drain the oil out of the lower unit of my 1980 8hp Suzuki outboard and when i took the bult out, no oil came out. I looked at the bolt and it was covered with a light brown gelish kind of substance. Oil must have been way too old. Anyways, how can i clean it all out so i can put in new oil?<br />Serial number is 0801 001920.<br />I dont have a owners manual for it, so could u i get some info on where i put the new oil in at? <br /><br />Many Thanks!<br /><br />PS. i dont know much about boat motors

 

[JB]

Re: Suzuki outboard: Trouble with lower unit oil...

What "bolt" did you remove, Mike?<br /><br />There are 2 screw-in plugs, about 1/2" diameter. To drain old grease you remove both.<br /><br />After draining (Check the grease for water. If it is milky you need new seals.) pump new outboard gearcase grease into the bottom hole until it overflows out the upper hole. Then replace the upper plug, remove the grease tube nozzle and replace the bottom plug.<br /><br />If you have removed the bolt that is the axle for the shifting fork you will need to dismantle the lower end and reassemble it with the bolt reinstalled.<br /><br />I am tempted to yell at you, but I wont, because my frustration is caused by the hundreds of people before you who tried to work on their engines without a manual. A really really non-smart move.<br /><br />Good luck.

 

[ob]

Re: Suzuki outboard: Trouble with lower unit oil...

mike17,Don't misconstrue what JB refers to as grease to be the consistancy of axle grease.Your lower unit uses gear oil of 80/90 wt. viscosity and is sometimes refered to as lower unit grease.

 

[DJ]

Re: Suzuki outboard: Trouble with lower unit oil...

mike17,<br /><br />If you did remove the right plug(s), replace the seals on them before you reinstall them.<br /><br />The most common areas for L/U leaks are the fill/drain plugs and propshaft seal.

 

[mike17]

Re: Suzuki outboard: Trouble with lower unit oil...

I only removed 1 bolt. It said "oil" right next to it so i figured it was a drain plug. When i pulled it out, no oild drained out. I looked at the bolt and it had a light brown think liquid substance on it. i put it back in and then came here to post.<br /><br />Like i said in post before, i am pretty clueless about boat motors and I am going to order the original manual off the suzuki website.But was hoping for help here. =)<br /><br />The posts above are helpful, but i just need to a diagram so i can locate the areas on the motor that u guys said.<br /><br />I do know what mean when u said the 2 plugs for the grease, But im refering to a bolt thats farther down the shaft.<br /><br />There are 4 bolts that go around the motor by the one i took out. Only reason i took out just that 1 is because it said "oil" right next to it.<br /><br />sorry if i seem like im "yelling" back at you guys but im just kinda frustrated with this motor that i bought about a week ago. <br /><br />PS. I just went out to the motor to look at the bolt area, the bolt is above the stabilizers abd just above the flusher area.<br /><br />Thanks again for all help. Im trying to learn all i can about outboards. What better place than here!

 

[RJS]

Re: Suzuki outboard: Trouble with lower unit oil...

Mike,<br /><br />It's not too hard to drain the gear oil, you're on the right track. The plug that you removed at the bottom of the skeg will not allow the oil to drain because of the vacuum. Look above the skeg abou a foot and you will see another screw, remove this and the oil will drain out. The oil will stink, but it should not look milky. The oil is refilled from the bottom. When it is full, put in the top screw and then the bottom.

 

[radsrh]

Re: Suzuki outboard: Trouble with lower unit oil...

When you say bolt are you referring to a longer bolt with threads on the whole shaft, or a short plug that has a flat end a few threads and a gasket around the head? If it was a shorter plug with a gasket that was the right one, next where on the lower unit was the plug. One should be on the bottom to the side of the lower unit, a second one should be above the lower one and they should both look the same. There could be two reasons that the oil did not drain, one you removed the top plug (or the overflow plug) the other reason could be that only one plug was removed. If it was the bottom plug that you removed there is a vacuum in the lower unit and the oil will not flow freely from it with the top plug in.

 

[ob]

Re: Suzuki outboard: Trouble with lower unit oil...

Mike , As JB points out there are two plugs that need to be removed.One is the bottom drain , and the other is the vent plug that allows the oil to flow from lower unit.Without the top plug removed it is similar to fluid in a straw with your finger on one end.The straw won't empty out until you remove the finger .Same thing here.One plug will be just below the propshaft housing above skeg, and the other will be at or just above the anti-ventilation plate of motor.When refilling ,the lower unit oil is filled from the bottom plug hole until it overflows from top vent hole.this keeps air pockets from forming and insures a complete fill of gear case.

 

[mike17]

Re: Suzuki outboard: Trouble with lower unit oil...

Alright, I found on brownspoint.com a digram of my motor. The drain plugs everyone is refering to is a flat screw just under the prop shaft. I guess the bolt i removed is the "vent" bolt. Well im gonna go remove it and see what happenes. <br /><br />Also theres a screw above the prop shaft that looks just the same, but the diagram on the website doesn't say anything about it.<br /><br />Thanks for your help guys, and for being patient with me

 

[mike17]

Re: Suzuki outboard: Trouble with lower unit oil...

Ok i got it draining. <br /><br />New problem <br />Not just oil came out, water came with it...<br />seals must be bad some where, any ideas where?<br /><br />Again thanks for all help, and your patients <br /><br />Edit: Where could i buy new seals at online? I cant find any on brownspoint.com (Suzuki website)

 

[Valv]

Re: Suzuki outboard: Trouble with lower unit oil...

Mike, I don't want to insult you or discourage you, but after the "plug" deal, you might want to buy a manual if you intend to change lower unit seals, it's not very complicate, but it can be.

 

[DJ]

Re: Suzuki outboard: Trouble with lower unit oil...

Mike,<br /><br />OK, good, you got it to drain. Now you have discovered an issue-water intrusion. There are a couple of ways to determine how the water got in.<br /><br />1. As I mentioned previously, the fill and drain plug seals should be replaced whenever they are removed. Possibly, the last owner didn't do this. Replace them, refill the L/U, and run it. See if the water returns.<br /><br />2. The L/U can be pressure/vacuum tested. Any dealer (any brand) can do this for you at nominal cost.