Need help fast...trying to fill Alpha I outdrive, wont go??

[prc03sx195]

I am trying to go boating in a couple days and cannot figure out what is going on. I have an external reservoir with a monitor switch for the outdrive oil. The manual says to fill it thru the reservoir until it comes out the vent. The problem is it will not fill thru the reservoir, it won't even fill thru the hose itself that connects to the reservoir!! I tried blowing air thru the hose but it wont even go thru, what am I missing or do I have a problem. I am getting very frustrated over this. Thanks for the help.
BTW it is an 2003 Mercruiser I/O 4.3L V6.

PAUL

 

[Don S]

Re: Need help fast...trying to fill Alpha I outdrive, wont go??

The manual says to fill it thru the reservoir until it comes out the vent.

BULL SHI* the OEM manual does not say that. What manual do you have?????

You fill from the drain plug, with the vent plug removed, until oil comes out the vent. Then you install the vent plug, continue pumping oil in till the reservoir is full.

 

[boatguya1]

Re: Need help fast...trying to fill Alpha I outdrive, wont go??

Assuming alpha drive you must fill it from the bottom drain plug on the drive. No idea what manual you are looking at, but it can't be filled from the resivior.

James

 

[JustJason]

Re: Need help fast...trying to fill Alpha I outdrive, wont go??

BULL SHI* the manual does not say that

Whoa there grampa grumpy.... wake up on the wrong side of the helm this morning???

Prc03sx195..... Go to the "Adults only" section that GG so nicely put together and read the whole manual for your drive. It's clear as day in the manual how to fill the drive properly. Don't mind Don... be he's a walking encyclopedia when it comes to Merc and the manuals, and you'll never put one past him.

 

[Don S]

Re: Need help fast...trying to fill Alpha I outdrive, wont go??

Whoa there grampa grumpy.... wake up on the wrong side of the helm this morning???

NOPE, I just know the real manuals don't say anything like that. Kind of a pet peeve of mine with "quotes" from the aftermarket junk manuals. Woke up to RAIN .............................. again! Grrrrrrrrr

 

[boatguya1]

Re: Need help fast...trying to fill Alpha I outdrive, wont go??

Whoa there grampa grumpy.... wake up on the wrong side of the helm this morning???

Prc03sx195..... Go to the "Adults only" section that GG so nicely put together and read the whole manual for your drive. It's clear as day in the manual how to fill the drive properly. Don't mind Don... be he's a walking encyclopedia when it comes to Merc and the manuals, and you'll never put one past him.

James

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Need help fast...trying to fill Alpha I outdrive, wont go??

I hope it`s not the same manual these boat owners are using to winterize their motors

 

[JustJason]

Re: Need help fast...trying to fill Alpha I outdrive, wont go??

If it's the same one i've been kneeling on for the last 5 years it just may be

 

[IVAZ]

Re: Need help fast...trying to fill Alpha I outdrive, wont go??

I have read many old threads while searching for some answers on different things. Don S comes in on a bunch of these (look at his dang post count). I think these two post above by Don are some of the funniest ones so far.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Need help fast...trying to fill Alpha I outdrive, wont go??

prc, I am trying to tell you the same thing in the same thread you started in the "Boating" section. I don't care what your manual says, this ain't how you fill a Mercruiser outdrive.

 

[prc03sx195]

Re: Need help fast...trying to fill Alpha I outdrive, wont go??

Ok already, but how can I do this without a pump kit, is there some alternative, can I make a pump from local hardware store parts? The nearest marina is 1 hr drive away.

PS Why is it when I drained the outdrive using the drain screw the reservoir emptied?
Thanks,

paul

 

[Rusty Boater]

Re: Need help fast...trying to fill Alpha I outdrive, wont go??

You can get a gear oil pump at Wal Mart or Tractor Supply.

When you drain the drive the gear oil in the resvior is suppose to drain out.

Follow the directions above for filling the unit with gear oil. That is the RIGHT way, Been doing it that way here for years.

 

[bamadave]

Re: Need help fast...trying to fill Alpha I outdrive, wont go??

Gravity helped empty the reservoir. The reason you can't fill the outdrive by filling the reservoir is air is trapped in the outdrive and can't escape. Walmart has a small hand pump, not a lot of different from the pump on hand lotion, that is only a few bucks. You don't need anything fancy. 2 quarts should fill the outdrive and reservoir.
Pump the oil from the bottom til it comes out the vent, install vent screw, and continue pumping til the level starts coming up into the reservoir. You can top off the reservoir once you see the oil in it. Be sure to replace the fiber washers on the drain and vent plugs. Also you need an impact driver to properly tighten the drain and vent plugs.

 

[QC]

Re: Need help fast...trying to fill Alpha I outdrive, wont go??

Oh, I beg to differ with you guys and even GG. If you drip a drop of the proper Merc gear oil into the reservoir it will slowly find it's way into the drive. Do that once a day for about seven years and it will indeed be full. But I read somewhere that he was going to run the boat this weekend so I decided not to mention it . . . Carry on.

BTW, my boys used to call their great Grandma GG, so my visual of Don is all messed up now Thanks JJ

 

[Dryon]

Re: Need help fast...trying to fill Alpha I outdrive, wont go??

Now I'm really confussed!!! Here is a page from Merc manual that clearly states to finish filling thru the lube monitor bottle after pumping thru the drain hole up to the vent hole. It's from manual #14 in the maintenance section. I know that the pump would seem to fill faster than gravity, but what's being said here doesn't agree with the manual. Am I missing something here. Don, please help me to understand. I got the manual from the adult section.

 

[QC]

Re: Need help fast...trying to fill Alpha I outdrive, wont go??

Dryon et al,

No real confusion there, #8 comes after #7 IF you have a gear lube Monitor . . .

All agree you fill the drive itself from the bottom with a pump . . . right? The only discrepancy is whether or not you continue to fill to the bottom of the monitor with the pump (vent hole plugged) or if you use gravity to fill the monitor to the drive with the vent hole out. Both methods will result in the Monitor tube not having any trapped air in it.

It could be argued that Don's noted method (using pump to fill up to the bottom of the Monitor) would result in less of a chance of any air being trapped in the top of the drive above the vent hole.

Orrrr you could try my method above. Guranteed to also keep the hours down on your boat so you will have better resale value, so maybe this is an economics discussion . . .

 

[Dryon]

Re: Need help fast...trying to fill Alpha I outdrive, wont go??

I just got confussed when Don stated "OEM manual does not say that. What manual do you have?????". I knew I read it somewhere, then I thought maybe I didn't have an OEM manual.

As far as how fast it can be filled thru the monitor bottle, its no slower than when you drain the system.

One last thing to mention, if you pump as Don said be sure to remove the bottle cap so the air can vent out. Not sure if the bottle can stand any back pressure. Just a though.

 

[QC]

Re: Need help fast...trying to fill Alpha I outdrive, wont go??

Now that I reread this, I am not really sure what the OP was trying to say . . . The reaction was to the thought that he is trying to fill the drive that way, but now I am not sure what he is trying to fill, the drive or just the reservoir . . .

 

[NMBuzz]

Re: Need help fast...trying to fill Alpha I outdrive, wont go??

BULL SHI* the OEM manual does not say that. What manual do you have?????

You fill from the drain plug, with the vent plug removed, until oil comes out the vent. Then you install the vent plug, continue pumping oil in till the reservoir is full.

Does anyone know of a drawing of the gear lube monitor components? I cleaned a bunch of sludge out of mine, but during this the "float" (white round)? came off. I can get it back on but one end of it has a small rubber bushing inside it. I am trying to figure out if this goes up or down on the shaft.

93 Mercruiser 4.3L, Alpha One

THX!

 

[Don S]

Re: Need help fast...trying to fill Alpha I outdrive, wont go??

Best to start a new thread of your own Buzz. It will be lost after one reply.