milky lower end oil..hasnt been in water

[ry2577]

Hope someone can help.

I changed the gear oil 1 month ago(came out nice and clear)....since then I have not had the boat in the water, however have run it on the hose twice. Due to winterizing it.(15 min each time) I thought just for the hell of it I would check the lower oil one more time...to my surprise it came out milky.

first is there anyway that the oil can turn milky without it being in the water?

I do have the prop off...can water get into the lower end from there?

could the weather have anything to do with it?

how can this happen?

 

[robert graham]

Re: milky lower end oil..hasnt been in water

Maybe you have a bad seal at the drive shaft where it enters the lower unit and when you ran it on the hose, water entered your gearbox at that time. Better drop the lower end and check that seal and the gear shifter shaft seal, also check/replace water pump impeller while you're in there. Good Luck!

 

[1946Zephyr]

Re: milky lower end oil..hasnt been in water

Yep, I second that. The water pump is the only part that got water in it and that is the most logical place that water could have entered.

 

[SparkieBoat]

Re: milky lower end oil..hasnt been in water

strange that the old oil was in such good shape.....what kind of oil did you use??
had the motor been sitting for a long time before the first oil change?? maybe the water and oil had separated after sitting...it is never a bad idea to change out the impeller and I think the drive shaft seals are pretty easy to replace.

 

[SparkieBoat]

Re: milky lower end oil..hasnt been in water

you could also try submersing the foot into water over night or a few days after draining the oil out and see if any water gets in there.

 

[ry2577]

Re: milky lower end oil..hasnt been in water

thanks for all the help...Just to let everyone know...the waterpump was replaced at the beginning of the season....also the boat had been sitting for about 3 weeks before the first oil change. I have changed the gear oil now and it will sit for the winter...in the spring I will check the waterpump again and the drive shaft seal aswell........sound right????/


I am kind of new to all this and was thinking it could be something very costly.

 

[SparkieBoat]

Re: milky lower end oil..hasnt been in water

so long as you catch a leaky seal early, it is no biggie, but if you continue to operate a motor with a leaky seal it will eventually result in gear/bearing failure, possibly rupturing the housing. now this is $$$

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: milky lower end oil..hasnt been in water

Were the muffs covering a drain screw ??? did you replace the nylon washers ??
Just a couple of thoughts.

 

[ry2577]

Re: milky lower end oil..hasnt been in water

replaced drain o-rings but not sure if the muffs would of covered a drain hole?

I was getting alot of oil gas mixture leaking out of the prop area after winterizing....from what I understand thats quite normal...correct?

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: milky lower end oil..hasnt been in water

Do you mean unburnt oil/gas mix ???

 

[ry2577]

Re: milky lower end oil..hasnt been in water

yeah unburt.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: milky lower end oil..hasnt been in water

Should not be fresh gas mix coming out of there.

 

[ry2577]

Re: milky lower end oil..hasnt been in water

sorry its burnt....definatly not fresh.

thanks for your help

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: milky lower end oil..hasnt been in water

Burnt is just unburnt 2 stroke oil draining down. What year is the motor ??

 

[ry2577]

Re: milky lower end oil..hasnt been in water

sorry for the late response as I have been away... the engine is a 1997 90 hp evinrude

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: milky lower end oil..hasnt been in water

When you changed the oil was IT milky too, or just when you checked recently?

If the original oil was also milky, I would suggest that there was some residual contamination. Doesn't take much.

 

[ezeke]

Re: milky lower end oil..hasnt been in water

replaced drain o-rings but not sure if the muffs would of covered a drain hole?..........?

O-rings? - They should be flat, nylon washers.

 

[jtexas]

Re: milky lower end oil..hasnt been in water

shift rod o-ring is the other possibility.

Only way I know of to check seals is to pressurize the gearbox, submerge it and look for bubbles. The water pump has to be off for this procedure.

I use one of those roadside emergency air compressors with a built-in pressure gauge and the hose/fitting from the gear oil change pump. Pump it up to 12 lbs, it should hold for 10-15 minutes.

If it passes the pressure test, you really should vacuum test it too.