water in lower unit

[King0581]

I have a '96 procraft 375dc and it has a 115 mercury elpto on it. Before putting it up last year when I changed the lower unit oil it had a bit of water in it. I noticed that one of the seals at one of the fill/drain plugs was a little messed up and I'm going to replace them all but I was wondering how many other seals the lower unit has and how hard it would be to replace them? This is my first boat so I'm still learning about them. I would like to be able to replace them myself. I am mechanically inclined. Any help with this would be much appreciated. some pictures of what I will be working with would be great also. Thanks. PS . Did some searching on these forums and I will be buying a manual for my motor, just to put that out there before people go crazy about me asking about pictures! Pretty sure its the fill/drain seals after reading other posts.

 

[Laddies]

Re: water in lower unit

BAM Marine site has parts breakdowns and prices for all Mercury products it's a good place for reference

 

[King0581]

Re: water in lower unit

Thanks. I'll check them out.

 

[j_martin]

Re: water in lower unit

Double post, no delete button, sorry

 

[j_martin]

Re: water in lower unit

I'd change the lube, putting new seals on the screws. Run it a bit, and check it again. If it's very slightly milky, do it again. It might have been a little residue from the first time. If it keeps getting milky, it's time to pull the lower, and pressure test it. That'll tell you which seals need replacing.

If you over fill it with lube, it can't help but pull in a bit of water. There needs to be a little air in the top for expansion. You fill it from the bottom, and the ounce that leaks out while you're jamming in the plug is about right.

hope it helps
John

 

[King0581]

Re: water in lower unit

I'd change the lube, putting new seals on the screws. Run it a bit, and check it again. If it's very slightly milky, do it again. It might have been a little residue from the first time. If it keeps getting milky, it's time to pull the lower, and pressure test it. That'll tell you which seals need replacing.

If you over fill it with lube, it can't help but pull in a bit of water. There needs to be a little air in the top for expansion. You fill it from the bottom, and the ounce that leaks out while you're jamming in the plug is about right.

hope it helps
John

Thanks! Going to get new seals and oil tomorrow and hopefully get it on the water this weekend, weather, and work pending.