White Streaks in Outdrive Oil?

[hostage]

When I drained my lower unit oil, I saw some white streaking in the blueish lube. I didn't use it at all last summer as we had a baby and I only used it once this summer and that was before I changed the oil. Two years ago before we had the kid, I did find oil on the ground of my driveway. My mechanic said it was broken plastic nipple that is hard to reach. He just sealed the hose that attaches the the out drive and disconnected and sealed off the line that connects to the reservoir. He said this is how old Mercrusiers use to work and said I should be fine. I will post some pictures soon.

Lastly this is the second time I have changed the oil, the previous times was years ago. After the oil came out of the top vent, I sealed it off, and pumped a couple more times. When I went to screw the bottom plug in, oil was coming out faster than I remember. After you seal the top vent screw, shouldn't it hold it because of a vacuum? It has been years, since I have done this. I also did notice some metal flakes on the lower plug.

2000 Maxum 1900SC w/ 4.3L Alpha One Gen 2

 

[Rick Stephens]

Time to pressure test the drive. Drain it, pull it and pressure test it. Tell you where the leak is. I'd fix the reservoir line and fitting as well.

 

[harleyman1975]

I don't like any mechanic that will jury rig stuff. Fix it right or change careers.

 

[hostage]

No Title

This is the worst picture I have, it first came out the streaks were a lot less apparent

 

[achris]

That's water. No question. Pressure test the drive, fix it, then sack your mechanic. Then fix the broken fitting. Yes it's difficult to do, but it's there for a reason.

When you close off the vent screw them pump in more oil, its pressurized. That's why it shot out so fast.

 

[hostage]

That's water. No question. Pressure test the drive, fix it, then sack your mechanic. Then fix the broken fitting. Yes it's difficult to do, but it's there for a reason.

When you close off the vent screw them pump in more oil, its pressurized. That's why it shot out so fast.

Yeah, I think I am done with him. I think I might use a dealer, I can only do so much work as I have a toddler and a very naggy wife. Never pulled off the whole lower unit before. I am guessing it might be leaking where it use to connect, maybe the jerry rig came undone? He was acting like it was a huge job to do replace the connector as it the engine was blocking it or something like that.

Edit: Here is what I orginally posted about the leak 2 years ago: http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engi.../9961356-alphaone-gen-ii-leaking-outdrive-oil

Never got it fixed as I was busy with a new baby.

 

[hostage]

I just watched a video on how to remove the lower unit from the transom, looks like 6 bolts on the mounting and 2 bolts on the trim arms. Would this be sufficient to diagnose or do I need to remove bellows, etc? Also, would I have to remove the bellows, etc to reach the nipple? Any better wordings other than "nipple" and "lower unit oil" to help me find a guide?

 

[khe]

Removing the drive is easy - put the shifter in forward gear, disconnect the trim cylinders, remove the six nuts and washers and the drive should come off.

I'm assuming this is a gen 2 Alpha drive and the broken nipple is the one on the transom side? You'll need to remove the trim sender and trim limit switch, hinge pins, then the U-joint bellows from the bell housing - piece of cake on a Gen 2 drive. Take a screwdriver and pry up on the aluminum retaining ring and then remove and discard the ring.

The U-joint bellows will then be able to be disconnected from the bell housing. You'll then be able to manipulate the bell housing in order to access the oil hose.

To reconnect the bellows, you'll need a new retaining ring, some Quicksilver Power Tune, and the installation tool. This is MUCH simpler and easier than the old glue in place bellows with the hose clamp on the bell housing.

 

[hostage]

No Title

Removing the drive is easy - put the shifter in forward gear, disconnect the trim cylinders, remove the six nuts and washers and the drive should come off.

I'm assuming this is a gen 2 Alpha drive and the broken nipple is the one on the transom side? You'll need to remove the trim sender and trim limit switch, hinge pins, then the U-joint bellows from the bell housing - piece of cake on a Gen 2 drive. Take a screwdriver and pry up on the aluminum retaining ring and then remove and discard the ring.

The U-joint bellows will then be able to be disconnected from the bell housing. You'll then be able to manipulate the bell housing in order to access the oil hose.

To reconnect the bellows, you'll need a new retaining ring, some Quicksilver Power Tune, and the installation tool. This is MUCH simpler and easier than the old glue in place bellows with the hose clamp on the bell housing.

So I watched some videos, read some more posts, and looked at some exploded diagrams. I am assuming you have done this before and didn't just stay at a holiday inn express

The attached picture shows a plug that I think he used to replace a different nipple to stop water from getting in. Im no plumber, but if he used the wrong thread and/or no gasket/washer/tyflon tape. I am betting that is where the water comes in.

I have done struts, brakes, oil changes before, and a lot of DIY around the house. I do have a lot of tools, though I need to figure out the parts and special tools I need for this. The bellows, gimble, and cable were replaced by the faulty mechanic about 5 years ago. The exhaust bellows did come unattached, with a loud noise a couple years ago.

My biggest issue is time. I hate being interrupted by the wife and she does rush me. Any idea how long it will take to replace the nipple on the transom?

 

[khe]

I pull my drive every fall before the boat goes into storage - that way, the bellows are not extended and I don't have to worry about the storage guys moving my boat with the drive down. to me, it's worth the cost of a gasket kit and a little labor. If I had my own building to store my boat in, my practice would be different.

I had to replace my trim sender and limit pucks in the spring and went through disconnecting the bellows. I also did the same job on my Dad's 888 (MC-1 drive) which was the old system and I can tell you, I'd rather deal with the Alpha one gen 2 bellows over the gen 1 or the older MC-1 drives any day.

When I had mine apart this spring to replace the trim senders, I also replaced the oil reservoir line. I recall that the transom side fitting on mine was a right angle fitting that fastened via a nut from the inside of the boat. Fortunately, I didn't have to mess with that other than R&R-ing the new oil line which was an easy job. I have heard horror stories about the right angle nipple being too close to the transom and installing the new line was very difficult but fortunately, that was not the case.

Bt Doctor, Bondo, or AllDodge would have experience with the transom fitting on the oil reservoir line.

 

[hostage]

I pull my drive every fall before the boat goes into storage - that way, the bellows are not extended and I don't have to worry about the storage guys moving my boat with the drive down. to me, it's worth the cost of a gasket kit and a little labor. If I had my own building to store my boat in, my practice would be different.

I had to replace my trim sender and limit pucks in the spring and went through disconnecting the bellows. I also did the same job on my Dad's 888 (MC-1 drive) which was the old system and I can tell you, I'd rather deal with the Alpha one gen 2 bellows over the gen 1 or the older MC-1 drives any day.

When I had mine apart this spring to replace the trim senders, I also replaced the oil reservoir line. I recall that the transom side fitting on mine was a right angle fitting that fastened via a nut from the inside of the boat. Fortunately, I didn't have to mess with that other than R&R-ing the new oil line which was an easy job. I have heard horror stories about the right angle nipple being too close to the transom and installing the new line was very difficult but fortunately, that was not the case.

Bt Doctor, Bondo, or AllDodge would have experience with the transom fitting on the oil reservoir line.

After this headache I don't think I want to buy another I/O Mercrusier. They wanted to make it easier by having a quick disconnect, instead of requiring a tool. Why they used plastic...grrr.

While I have time to "study" things at work. At home I am torn between honey do's and toddler. Depending on how much my wife is willing to put up with I have the following options:
-fix just the leak and not reconnect the reservoir
-fix everything
-fix just leak and wait on reservoir when I need to replace the bellows.

I have seen lots of boats and this one I think will be more difficult and I question if it is possible to do it without removing the engine first. The exploded diagrams I looked at shows the 90* elbow with shaft going from the out drive side through the transom connecting to an e-clip and quick disconnect. I was wondering about using some type of line to fish it onto it, though the 90* angle and e-clip I think kills that idea. I don't know if I could remove a bellows vent to get to it. If this does require an engine removal, there is no way in hell my wife will let me store, let alone buy an engine hoist. This is a 17 year old boat after all.

 

[achris]

..... This is a 17 year old boat after all.

I do all sorts of work on my 45 year old boat.

You don't need to buy an engine hoist. Hire one. Pulling a boat engine is not as difficult as a car engine. You should be able to have the whole job done in a weekend, if things go well, a day.

Chris.......

 

[hostage]

I do all sorts of work on my 45 year old boat.

You don't need to buy an engine hoist. Hire one. Pulling a boat engine is not as difficult as a car engine. You should be able to have the whole job done in a weekend, if things go well, a day.

Chris.......

Time is my biggest issue and my wife is one hell of a nag. There is no way I could have a day, let alone two w/o towing my boat some where else and turning off my phone.

Every time I do a project like this it is always a lot simpler on paper. "That doesn't look right", seems to always turns up. Then I have to drive to west marine and/or wait a few more days for something to get shipped to me. I will take a look to see how accessible the transom is from inside the boat. If it requires an engine removal, then that will be a deal breaker.

 

[hostage]

No Title

Wow, this thing is built tightly together. I think I found the quick disconnect. It is below and slightly starboard of what I think is the water/coolant line. It looks like the steering rack blocks a strait shot. If I had a friend push the transom fitting in, while I pushed the quick disconnect, I wonder if that would work. It might be hard to get the e-ring on there. Would be a lot easier without the rack in the way. Is it boltes onto the transom with one bolt and connect to a steering arm.

 

[khe]

Hostage,

Is that fitting in the photo the transom end or the gimbal end? Mine were brass, not plastic. I don't see any quick disconnect - just a plastic hose clamp on a plastic fitting. I am soooo glad mine are brass. I don't like the VA/VE engineering aspect of substituting plastic for metal components. While the plastic may hold up initially, it is often inferior when it comes to service. In an application such as this one where it requires engine removal to replace, plastic is foolish. See if there are brass parts available.

Mercruisers are actually very good powerplants. Don't sell them short. Most maintenance projects take longer than expected. Once in awhile, you get lucky and a project doesn't have a glitch. I had to replace a "no longer available" power switch on my boat's refrigerator the other evening. I thought it would take a half hour but it took me three hours.

Maybe it's time to send your wife out of town for a weekend so you have time to work on the boat...

 

[hostage]

Hostage,

Is that fitting in the photo the transom end or the gimbal end? Mine were brass, not plastic. I don't see any quick disconnect - just a plastic hose clamp on a plastic fitting. I am soooo glad mine are brass. I don't like the VA/VE engineering aspect of substituting plastic for metal components. While the plastic may hold up initially, it is often inferior when it comes to service. In an application such as this one where it requires engine removal to replace, plastic is foolish. See if there are brass parts available.

Mercruisers are actually very good powerplants. Don't sell them short. Most maintenance projects take longer than expected. Once in awhile, you get lucky and a project doesn't have a glitch. I had to replace a "no longer available" power switch on my boat's refrigerator the other evening. I thought it would take a half hour but it took me three hours.

Maybe it's time to send your wife out of town for a weekend so you have time to work on the boat...

The photo is from the gimbal end I guess, it was taken from inside the boat. The steering rack next to the engine was blocking an easy access. They did switch from brass to plastic.

 

[hostage]

I drained the oil and built a pressure tester. I tested it around 2:15pm with 16psi. Checked 2 hours later and it was at 17psi, the sun shinning on the out drive must have caused the rise. A few hours later it is at 16psi again. During one of the tests it started dropping slowly. I sprayed with water and soap and saw bubbles coming out of the top oil vent. I flipped over the gasket and it hasn't dropped below 16psi in the past 5 hours. Is 24 hours a good enough test? I will pick up gaskets tommorrow.

 

[hostage]

I checked it around 10pm last night and it was at 16psi. This morning it dropped down to 11psi, I will see where it is at when I get home after work. We had a 20-25* temperature difference from when I started the test and this morning.