water in gear lube pushing oil out the bottle??

[mpsyamaha]

the boat is a searay with a bravo 3. every time you take it out it comes back with the gear lube reservoir botttle low or empty. at least some of the oil ends up in the bilge, this much i know. cant find any obvious leak, im wondering if seals in the drive could be gone and water pressure is forcing the oil out? or should i just be looking for a leak somewhere in the boat? any suggestions/advice? thanks

 

[Bondo]

Re: water in gear lube pushing oil out the bottle??

im wondering if seals in the drive could be gone and water pressure is forcing the oil out?

Ayuh,......

That would be My Guess.....

Have you Checked it at the drain plug,..??

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: water in gear lube pushing oil out the bottle??

Yes, you need to drain the drive & pressure test it........
Bettter yet pull the drive.....
I'm guessing you will get water & gear oil from the bellows when you pull the drive......​

 

[CharlieB]

Re: water in gear lube pushing oil out the bottle??

If the lower seal in the upper gearcase is leaking you will NOT find any evidence of a leak until the seal gets so bad the it leaks at rest on the trailer, then you will find clean gear oil in the exhaust passage dripping from the lower gearcase/props.

 

[newport dave]

Re: water in gear lube pushing oil out the bottle??

If some of the oil is ending up in the bilge, you either have a leaky lube reservoir (or hose) or the upper seal in the outdrive is leaking, filling the universal bellows with oil which then drains into the bilge.

 

[mpsyamaha]

Re: water in gear lube pushing oil out the bottle??

thank you for the replies... it seems that most of the oil is ending up in the bilge but cant tell where its coming from. this boat doesnt have a trailer so i want to be pretty sure before paying to have it hauled out. im going to try to run it today and really get in there and look. it only leaks when you run it.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: water in gear lube pushing oil out the bottle??

your already sure.
Newport Dave just told ya.
its either the lube bottle hose,the fitting at the transome or the inputshaft seal on the drive has failed.
fix it while its cheap or wait until the upper fails.
either way someone will get a new pair of shoes .

 

[Don S]

Re: water in gear lube pushing oil out the bottle??

Time to pull the drive, check the bellows for gear lube and pressure check the drive.
If the reservoir or the hose to the drive was leaking, it would leak even when not running.
Like rodbolt says, fix it now while it's fairly inexpensive, or wait till it gets real expensive. Your choice.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: water in gear lube pushing oil out the bottle??

Time to pull the drive, check the bellows for gear lube and pressure check the drive.
If the reservoir or the hose to the drive was leaking, it would leak even when not running.
Like rodbolt says, fix it now while it's fairly inexpensive, or wait till it gets real expensive. Your choice.

It is so much more convincing when you say it Don......

 

[mpsyamaha]

Re: water in gear lube pushing oil out the bottle??

ok ran it today.... the lube bottle fills up to the point of overflow when you run the boat hard, drains back down when you idle or shut it down. obviously lots of water in it. looks like its time to pull the drive....

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: water in gear lube pushing oil out the bottle??

My guess at this point is bad bellows caused failure of the yoke seal.....​

 

[Bondo]

Re: water in gear lube pushing oil out the bottle??

obviously lots of water in it. looks like its time to pull the drive....

Ayuh,.....

Sounds like you'll be Lucky if there's enough of the drive left, to rebuild it......

 

[Don S]

Re: water in gear lube pushing oil out the bottle??

Ayuh,.....

Sounds like you'll be Lucky if there's enough of the drive left, to rebuild it......

Everytime I have seen that happen to a Bravo 3, a new drive was cheaper than all the internal parts needed to rebuild them.
Also sounds like you have already waited to long to find the problem.

 

[mpsyamaha]

Re: water in gear lube pushing oil out the bottle??

not my boat, its been sitting in saltwater for years, and gets used a lot. dont know much more about the history than that. it still runs and drives fine. so it may be time for a new drive..... only one way to find out