Gear Oil dissappearing

[Plainolelow]

The boat, 2002 Bayliner 195 sport. 190hp Merc.

The problem, well after a few hours of riding around my gear oil botlle(where you fill it up) is empty.

I took it back to the place I bought it and they supposed checked it out. Said there wasnt any in the bellows, took the lower unit off and did compression test. The gimble bearing and all was ok. All the lines etc were ok. Basically said the boat was fine. They supposedly ran it on muffs for 20 mins and it didnt lose a drop. Well anytime I am on the lake I have to fill it up twice every 7 hrs or so...

If you need any more info I will update as soon as I can. Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[Don S]

Re: Gear Oil dissappearing

I suppose we could set aroung and guess long enough and every seal and connections would be covered. In reallity, you need to get the drive drained and pressure checked. There IS a leak. There is also a hose that goes from the transom shield to the bellhousing where the drive connects up with the quick disconnect. Did they check all that as well?

Any gear lube in the bilge?

 

[Plainolelow]

Re: Gear Oil dissappearing

there is no oil in the bilge. They said they checked everything. I really dont want to pay 80-100$ an hour for someone else to try fix this but I may have to. I think they just wanted me out of there.i dont know if they checked that hose your talking about.

I havent seen any rainbows in the water and i havent seen any buildup in the boat.

When you say in the bilge do u mean in the bottom of the boat? Or do you mean in the pump itself?

Thanks Don you have actually helped me on here before. Thanks alot for trying. Maybe we can get this.

 

[tommays]

Re: Gear Oil dissappearing

that is a huge leak

Its hard to believe they missed it and harder to believe there is not a lot of oil somewere ?

The hose goes from the bottom of the tank through a fitting in the transome and then another hose to the bell houseing

http://www.boatfix.com/merc/Servmanl/14/14a4.pdf

The hose is shown on page 4A-45 inside and outside the boat

Tommays



Tommays

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Gear Oil dissappearing

It has to be going somewhere,Its hard to believe they actually performed a pressure test on the drive and found no leak.
Its kind of like buying a used car.They are your best friend untill you sign on the bottom line.Then the vehicle is your problem.Unless they gave you some kind of warranty on the boat,which i doubt,take it to someone else that will REALLY check it over.
You don't want to trash the outdrive.
When Don mentioned oil in the bilge he is reffering to the area under the engine in the bottom,not the bilge pump itself.

 

[Plainolelow]

Re: Gear Oil dissappearing

Thats what i was thinking on the bilge part. No there isnt any oil there. It would make any water that comes out when you take out the plug rainbow like correct? Ya there is a guy up the street, I think his rates are 80 hr. I guess I will see how backed up he is. I will check into that hose you both spoke of when i get home is the weather clears. Thanks

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Gear Oil dissappearing

Good luck. Have you drained the drive to see if the lube is milky? I would think with that much lube missing that water could be getting in..
Some shops make me wonder how they stay in business.
I paid 500 a few years ago to have a starter put on.A few weeks later i found a starter bolt in the bilge.I got looking and yep,only one bolt holding the starter and both of the nuts on the rear engine mounts were nowhere to be found.From that point on i try to do all my own work..

 

[Blitzen]

Re: Gear Oil dissappearing

I have a 2005 350 MAG Horizon with Bravo 2 outdrive and have been losing lube since it was delivered. Outdrive has been pressure tested (both positive and negative) four times with various seals replaced. Last year the prop shaft was replaced which slowed the rate of loss but did not eliminate it. Typically would lose one or two ounces (about an inch on the lube reservoir) for each 3 or 4 hours of use, this was reduced to roughly half that after the shaft was replaced and re-aligned. Pressure testing would not show leaks. Long story a little shorter......leak occurs when the prop shaft is turning. Outdrive has been in the shop this winter where they will re-align the shaft and replace the prop shaft seal AGAIN. Mercruiser says this is not subject to a service bulletin but they have "heard" of it. Everyone says no loss of lube in ANY amount. I am not losing what this guy is but maybe it is a similar problem.

 

[SuperNova]

Re: Gear Oil dissappearing

Pull your prop and see if there is any oily residue on the front washer, it'll be obvious if there is. If there is, your prop shaft seals are probably dried out and leaking. It's a double seal setup (one faces in and one faces out) and difficult to pinpoint with a leak test if it fails the right way(hardens). Been down that route before.

-
stan

 

[JIm Cook]

Re: Gear Oil dissappearing

My 96 Bravo III gear oil mysteriously leaks also. Done this since "new". Merc Rep said it's common and implied it's normal. Yeah
right ! The best theory I've heard that may explain this is that as the drive gets hot the gear oil heats, expands, and is forced out
the seals because the fill bottle cap is not "vented". There is a hole in the cap but it is appears to operate like a check valve
letting air in but not out. This theory may also explain the
exploding bottles that occur. However, I thought the above
scenerio was pretty much a Bravo only problem.

 

[Plainolelow]

Re: Gear Oil dissappearing

Ok so I take off the prop and I should see the 1st washer? I see the shaft and then there is 3 small screws holding something on. I havent had this boat long so I am still learning it. Thanks

 

[Don S]

Re: Gear Oil dissappearing

My 96 Bravo III gear oil mysteriously leaks also. Done this since "new". Merc Rep said it's common and implied it's normal. Yeah
right ! .

That is right, The B3 drives will leak a little oil out. It's just a fact of life. Keep the oil level on full.
BUT, like you say, that is something a Bravo III does , the Alpha drives DO NOT and should not leak like that.

Plainolelow.
I doubt you are going to be able to tell oil residue from exhaust on that prop washer. Do you have an owners manual for your engine and drive? It would show you what is there, What you are probably seeing is the anode, but it's only held on with 2 screws.

 

[SuperNova]

Re: Gear Oil dissappearing

I am talking about the front thrust washer which goes on the shaft before the prop. Any oily or greasy residue that radiates out from the center of it on the side facing the outdrive is oil from your prop shaft seals. Very easy to spot and very obvious once you know what to look for. You will not confuse it with exhaust markings which are non-existent due to the water which comes with the exhaust basically steam cleans the washer, but can't remove the residue from the seals. The thing with the three screws is the bearing carrier. The seals sit in the center of it- one faces in and ones faces out.

 

[Plainolelow]

Re: Gear Oil dissappearing

Alright, my plan is to fill it up today and run her for a few hours. I will then check it out again and see if there is anything on that washer. Thanks for the help.

Had crappy weather this weekend couldnt put the boat in the water.

 

[Plainolelow]

Re: Gear Oil dissappearing

Ok, I got super busy and just now got to checking this out.

I filled it up and ran it for 3 days. I had to fill it back up once.

I pulled the prop off after I got home with it and I couldnt see any build up, fluid, etc.

Anything else easy to try?

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Gear Oil dissappearing

Plaineolelow you have a PM...

 

[pjrogers]

Re: Gear Oil dissappearing

Don S: thanks for your observation about Bravo IIIs using gear oil. We used our new to us boat w/ a Bravo III for a couple of hours on Saturday, and I was surprised/worried that the gear oil reservoir was down a bit after we pulled out of the water. My 4 previous Alpha 1s never used a drop.
Cheers,
pjr