Torn seal leaking gear lube

[Alpha 1 Gen 2]

Hello, I have an Alpha 1 Gen 2 mercruiser stern drive on my sea ray 180. I had some routine maintenance done that was recommended when I hit 250 hours. The boat has been amazing with no issues, but when I got it back from mechanic it had multiple issues. It was leaking gear lube on garage floor, steering wheel was no longer straight when driving, speedometer no longer worked, The mechanic changed impeller, greased, installed new anode kit, When I brought it back the first time he now said the seas on the lower unit didn’t look bad,but must have been what was leaking. I picked the boat back up and brought the boat back to the lake and still leaking. I took boat back out of the water and brought it back for 3rd time. He told me there was nothing he could do and now the shift seal must be bad.
I brought the boat to new mechanic and they tested and said that it could not be the shift seal because when they did a vacuum and pressure test it did not leak on that side of lower unit where shift seal is located.
They found a think red gear lube that was not normal when they drained lower unit, a tear in a seal between upper and lower unit, and the u joint carrier nut was only hand tight.
I picked it up and drove it and everything was back to normal and working great.
Of coarse the first mechanic denies everything.
Does anyone agree with second mechanic and that it was put back together incorrectly and torn seal was likely the cause of gear lube leaking?

Again, the boat was perfect prior to being worked on and even the impeller looked brand new when he gave it back to me.

Thanks in advance for Any info!

 

[alldodge]

Welcome

Does anyone agree with second mechanic and that it was put back together incorrectly and torn seal was likely the cause of gear lube leaking?

Agree
The first guy is a mechanic in name only

 

[airshot]

Hopefully you paid the first guy with a credit card so you can cancel the payment for faulty services.. Unfortunately there are lots of stories like your out there. This is one reason why most folks learn to do their own work.

 

[Scott06]

I took boat back out of the water and brought it back for 3rd time. He told me there was nothing he could do and now the shift seal must be bad.
I brought the boat to new mechanic and they tested and said that it could not be the shift seal because when they did a vacuum and pressure test it did not leak on that side of lower unit where shift seal is located.
They found a think red gear lube that was not normal when they drained lower unit, a tear in a seal between upper and lower unit, and the u joint carrier nut was only hand tight.
I picked it up and drove it and everything was back to normal and working great.
Of coarse the first mechanic denies everything.
Does anyone agree with second mechanic and that it was put back together incorrectly and torn seal was likely the cause of gear lube leaking?

Again, the boat was perfect prior to being worked on and even the impeller looked brand new when he gave it back to me.

Thanks in advance for Any info!

Keep going to second mechanic. First guy probably tore the driveshaft seals in upper when he reassembled after splitting the unit to do the water pump... then didn't tighten the u joint nut when he replaced these seals. So yes first guy didn't assemble it correctly.

I would dispute the charges if they are on a card or try and get your money back.

There are some red gear lubes on the market. I use one for my jetski Klotz- is reddish in color. Seems to hold up better at least color wise in the jet pump vs Mercury Hi Perf lube which your guys should have been using. While in higher performance applications other lubes may be better, why use other stuff when the OEM is available at Walmart for a good price?

Sounds like you found a new mechanic... which is good. This is why most of us do it ourselves. We have all had to do stuff twice but we know whose fault it is...

 

[ROY WILLIAMS]

Hello, I have an Alpha 1 Gen 2 mercruiser stern drive on my sea ray 180. I had some routine maintenance done that was recommended when I hit 250 hours. The boat has been amazing with no issues, but when I got it back from mechanic it had multiple issues. It was leaking gear lube on garage floor, steering wheel was no longer straight when driving, speedometer no longer worked, The mechanic changed impeller, greased, installed new anode kit, When I brought it back the first time he now said the seas on the lower unit didn’t look bad,but must have been what was leaking. I picked the boat back up and brought the boat back to the lake and still leaking. I took boat back out of the water and brought it back for 3rd time. He told me there was nothing he could do and now the shift seal must be bad.
I brought the boat to new mechanic and they tested and said that it could not be the shift seal because when they did a vacuum and pressure test it did not leak on that side of lower unit where shift seal is located.
They found a think red gear lube that was not normal when they drained lower unit, a tear in a seal between upper and lower unit, and the u joint carrier nut was only hand tight.
I picked it up and drove it and everything was back to normal and working great.
Of coarse the first mechanic denies everything.
Does anyone agree with second mechanic and that it was put back together incorrectly and torn seal was likely the cause of gear lube leaking?

Again, the boat was perfect prior to being worked on and even the impeller looked brand new when he gave it back to me.

Thanks in advance for Any info!

so the China parts ! damaged it ..

 

[nola mike]

Keep going to second mechanic. First guy probably tore the driveshaft seals in upper when he reassembled after splitting the unit to do the water pump... then didn't tighten the u joint nut when he replaced these seals. So yes first guy didn't assemble it correctly.

I was trying to figure out the sequence that would have led to all the problems...I think you got it

. This is why most of us do it ourselves. We have all had to do stuff twice but we know whose fault it is...

Yup. In most aspects of my life. I also know the risk/benefit when I cut a corner, and know what to be looking out for later

 

[Alpha 1 Gen 2]

I was trying to figure out the sequence that would have led to all the problems...I think you got it

Yup. In most aspects of my life. I also know the risk/benefit when I cut a corner, and know what to be looking out for later

Thanks for all of your input! Yes, the sequence of events is confusing and very frustrating for me. I think the first time he put something together wrong doing the impeller. I read something about a quad seal or little o ring that keeps gear lube in. There was a large oil spot on garage floor and appeared to be coming from instake vents the first time.
The second time it went back I then think he pulled the lower unit actually off the boat which led to him forgetting to hook speedo back up, steering wheel no longer straight with lower unit and replacing bearing carrier seal he now said was bad,but cannot say if he had his hands on u joint carrier nut. He said he had no reason to touch it but when I look at a diagram it looks like it is right there when unit comes off. Either way glad second mechanic caught it before reassembly.
Thanks for letting me know about the red gear lube. The first time it was green and second time it was red and third time green again so I didn’t know if he was just trying to seal it with some red liquid. I am still confused why he told me at the end it was the shift seal leaking. I guess anything will leak if you put enough pressure on it. second mechanic said he likely did pressure test and not vacuum test and he was likely just guessing at that point but they could not get the shift seal to leak.
So what actually seals the upper and lower unit together and can gear lube leak there?
Thanks!

 

[Scott06]

Thanks for all of your input! Yes, the sequence of events is confusing and very frustrating for me. I think the first time he put something together wrong doing the impeller. I read something about a quad seal or little o ring that keeps gear lube in. There was a large oil spot on garage floor and appeared to be coming from instake vents the first time.
The second time it went back I then think he pulled the lower unit actually off the boat which led to him forgetting to hook speedo back up, steering wheel no longer straight with lower unit and replacing bearing carrier seal he now said was bad,but cannot say if he had his hands on u joint carrier nut. He said he had no reason to touch it but when I look at a diagram it looks like it is right there when unit comes off. Either way glad second mechanic caught it before reassembly.
Thanks for letting me know about the red gear lube. The first time it was green and second time it was red and third time green again so I didn’t know if he was just trying to seal it with some red liquid. I am still confused why he told me at the end it was the shift seal leaking. I guess anything will leak if you put enough pressure on it. second mechanic said he likely did pressure test and not vacuum test and he was likely just guessing at that point but they could not get the shift seal to leak.
So what actually seals the upper and lower unit together and can gear lube leak there?
Thanks!

Yes there is a small quad ring (basically a square O ring) that can get knocked out or forgotten when you reassemble the two halves of the drive.

Lube leaking out the water intake is most likely the seal below the impeller. He may have taken the bearing carrier off to replace the seal then not tightened it. It takes some azz to get it off and tight. Bottom line he sounds hasty probably inexperienced, too many guys just start replacing chit without looking at it and determining what's wrong. We all make mistakes but it didn't leak when you took it to him...

I just re sealed my drive (2004 Alpha Gen 2) as I caught some fishing line on the prop shaft seal. When I took the carrier out I saw some staining on bearings. When I got the boat it was 11 years old with 37 hrs on it and a cracked block.. so it sat for years. That left some etching/staining on some of the bearings. The upper bearing in the top of drive was pitted around the race where the rollers were sitting for years. There was never any signs of mositure in the lube, not even after I caught the fishing line.

I replaced most of the bearings in the drive, the only two seals that were an issue were the prop shaft due to line, and the shift shaft crumbled. but neither of these failed a pressure test, never saw water in lube... I replaced them all as I figured I would be good for another 15 years

And to confirm the blueish green lube is the recommended Merc Hi Perf gear lube. Since you trailer it you can crack the bottom drain and see if any milkyness occurs. Watch the lube level in the bottle for drop , thats how I knew something was up as I have never lost lube