Water in my drive

[flatiron14]

I have a '92 305 Merc with an Alpha one outdrive in my boat... today I pulled it out to start getting it ready for spring and when I drained the outdrive, about a cup full of water came out first, then the oil started draining. I changed the drive oil a year ago and there was no water in the drive, and I reinstalled the plugs with proper gaskets, so I doubt it's leaking in from the plugs.

That being said, what's my best case scenario and what's my worst case scenario? Obviously I'll have to take the drive off and take it somewhere, I was just curious as to how much repairs might cost.

 

[Don S]

Re: Water in my drive

I was just curious as to how much repairs might cost.

How much depends on what is leaking and what parts caused it to leak.
Water in the drive is why you should always change your gear lube when winterizing, then you know if there is water in it or not, you also pull the drive to make sure there is no water in the bellows. Because it automatically goes into the drive.
Now, you have to pull the drive and drain the gear lube and pressure check things and look for leaks. Hopefully the water in your gears and bearings in the lower didn't destroy them. Not sure how it could not.

 

[flatiron14]

Re: Water in my drive

Thanks for the reply, Don. I'll pull the drive this week and see what we're up against. Last time I used the boat, the drive was operational and seemed to be running fine... we'll see if that's still the case. I'll take it somewhere and get a price and check back with you all to see if you think it sounds about right.

 

[stephentyler20]

Re: Water in my drive

Having had this problem recently on the same engine/drive combo, I'll weigh in...

For me, the failure was the upper seal around the input yoke. The steel wore away the rubber until it was leaking. Water got in (I saw it in the oil). I took the drive apart, and my upper bearings and gears were shot. Replaced them, and all the seals, aft u-joint, and input yoke and put it all back together. Last season, ran well, oil at the end of the season (ahem) was green as can be.

Short story - you'll need a pressure test at the very least, but more likely, you'll need to do a teardown of your drive to inspect the gears and bearings. I don't think there's any 2 ways about it on this one, sorry to say!

Keep an eye on craigslist, you may benefit from just picking up a used drive. I've seen tons of them in the $400-500 range.

For cost, the parts aren't terrible (probably $300 or so total), but it's pretty time intensive if you don't have the right tools or experience. Not sure how much your local shop will charge!