The dreaded milky outdrive oil!!

[Lola22]

2000 Volvo 5.0GL PEFS /w SX outdrive - Boat stays in the water April-Dec every year. Outdrive oil has been changed every year at winterization since I bought the boat in 2006. In 2007 I had the boatyard do a full service, but since then it has just been regular annual oil change and inspection with no issues. When I drained the oil last weekend I saw for the first time the dreaded milk color. I know this means that water somehow got into the outdrive, but my question is what to do now? I did notice that the upper plug seemed to be a bit loose when I unscrewed it, so I'm hoping thats the culprit. (Did I put on a new O-ring last year?) I went ahead and re-filled the drive to be safe, and the boat will be in the boatel until March, but I want to jump on this first thing this spring. I assume the first step is a pressure test, but if the drive does not hold pressure, how do I go about diagnosing the problem. What are the most common places for water to enter the drive? Thanks in advance for your responses.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: The dreaded milky outdrive oil!!

Did you pull the drive to see if there is water in the bellows? You also need to pressure test your drive now. If there is no water in the bellows, it could be the o-ring but you need to be sure now. I always replace all the o-rings on all the plugs everytime I change the drive oil.

 

[telstar1]

Re: The dreaded milky outdrive oil!!

A few thoughts.
If the plug was loose thats very likely the prob

As already advised you should pull the leg you do this yearly anyhow right.

Drain the milk and pressure test. If yours is anything like mine, it will hold pressure even if there is a seal problem..... which leaves many questions like where to go from here.Others will be able to better advise you on this.

If all the above checks out ok Id flush milk out using light oil or solvent, put in new stuff and run it. Keep an eye on reservoir come to think of it if you didnt notice milk in resvr your oil line to it is prob. plugged. Fix that first.

 

[1kwik72]

Re: The dreaded milky outdrive oil!!

I would get the milky oil out now. There's water in your drive with bare steel, I know there's also oil, but I'd get all of that water out right now. JMO

 

[dsiekman]

Re: The dreaded milky outdrive oil!!

I would get the milky oil out now. There's water in your drive with bare steel, I know there's also oil, but I'd get all of that water out right now. JMO

+1. I am having similar issues with my 2000 Volvo DP drives. Both took on water. In my case, there was actually water sitting under the oil when I drained it. I was less concerned about rust and more concerned about the case splitting due to ice.

Also, telstar1, I don't think the SX has a reservoir. I know my DP does not. I think that is strictly a Merc thing...although a good idea in my opinion.

 

[telstar1]

Re: The dreaded milky outdrive oil!!

Sorry I didnt notice the volvo.Actually I did plumb up a 280 then a 290 volvo leg with a Merc reservoir and it worked really well.Ran it that way for over 20 yrs.Quite a few people locally copied the idea.Sure saves on leg failures and intermediate bearing repairs due to water in boot--you know right away when the boot fails,fix it promptly and grease up the intmdt. bearings and youre good to go.That boat never had an intermediate bearing failure in all that time which I believe is unusually good performance.

 

[Lola22]

Re: The dreaded milky outdrive oil!!

Thanks for all the input. I did not pull the drive prior to covered winter storage, but I did go ahead and refill the oil - $30 bucks that I will toss this spring but worth the peace of mind. My plan for spring is to drain the oil, put on new o-rings and pressure test. If it holds pressure I will re-fill and go back in the water. If it doesn't hold pressure I will attempt to diagnose from there. Thanks again.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: The dreaded milky outdrive oil!!

You need to pull the drive to make sure there isn't any water in the bellows because it is very easy for water to enter the drive if water got in there. Personally, I would do this sooner than later as if there is water in there, you will have even more damage to your u-joints and gimbal bearing.

 

[telstar1]

Re: The dreaded milky outdrive oil!!

You could loosen off clamp on bellows, slip one end of bellows off and see if any water comes out.Then youll know if you have to go further.

 

[dsiekman]

Re: The dreaded milky outdrive oil!!

Sorry I didnt notice the volvo.Actually I did plumb up a 280 then a 290 volvo leg with a Merc reservoir and it worked really well.Ran it that way for over 20 yrs.Quite a few people locally copied the idea.Sure saves on leg failures and intermediate bearing repairs due to water in boot--you know right away when the boot fails,fix it promptly and grease up the intmdt. bearings and youre good to go.That boat never had an intermediate bearing failure in all that time which I believe is unusually good performance.

Not to hijack the thread, but that is a really interesting concept.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: The dreaded milky outdrive oil!!

Not to hijack the thread, but that is a really interesting concept.

Or you change the boot regularly when you are supposed to and you never have the problem. The Volvo 270/280/290 is probably the easiest drive to change the bellows on so no need to hack it up with a reservoir. Not sure how the poster did this but sure there are many problems with doing so.

 

[telstar1]

Re: The dreaded milky outdrive oil!!

Quote "Not sure how the poster did this but sure there are many problems with doing so."

Seems like needless negativity .There is pretty much nothing to it and if someone who is genuinely interested wants to know Id be happy to guide him thru the process I used.Bellows can and do fail for reasons other than age,in my experience, so no idea how regular changes will preclude that problem.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: The dreaded milky outdrive oil!!

If you use OEM bellows, the chances are less likely that they will fail than a kluge to add a reservoir system.

 

[telstar1]

Re: The dreaded milky outdrive oil!!

The kluge as you refer to it,(had to look that one up) will also of course detect water in leg probably its most valuable asset.Volvo drives are expensive last time I looked and sei dont make a substitute either. The reservoir will save you money but for persons who obviously dont like the idea and equally obviously have never tried it,the solution is very simple, dont use one.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: The dreaded milky outdrive oil!!

OK...describe the kluge for us!

 

[1kwik72]

Re: The dreaded milky outdrive oil!!

Back to the original question-
"I know this means that water somehow got into the outdrive, but my question is what to do now?"

If you know that oil is milky from water intrusion, the bottom line is that it needs to come out now, that's step one...But, Volvo makes all the parts to replace whatever else goes wrong so in the end whether you choose to do the best thing now or just wait you should be fine. It's only money and time.

best of luck to you...

 

[rinker265]

Re: The dreaded milky outdrive oil!!Bravo 2

Re: The dreaded milky outdrive oil!!Bravo 2

OMG I was getting the out drive ready for paint when I saw that the oil hose from the transom to the drive was broke. This was just replaced from the marina last season. Seems it was too short and it broke apart when the drive was in the down position. I immediately went to drain the oil from the drive and 3 qts of salt water came out. I put gear oil back in the drive so no air would get to the parts. What should I do now? I called the marina and they said they have to look at to see what happened. Can I chance it. Do they make a flush? HELP?

 

[Don S]

Re: The dreaded milky outdrive oil!!Bravo 2

Re: The dreaded milky outdrive oil!!Bravo 2

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=468283