water in the lower unit

boater1234

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
869
Well to my suprise i drained the lower unit in my 15hp 2stroke i just bought 3 weeks ago and noticed the milky color and i'm sure it's water.My question is i asked the guy who is fixing it at my marina if it sat in storage for 10yrs could it have dry rotted some of the seals in the lower unit and he said yes.Does this sound right to anyone as there is less then 20hrs run time on it but it has been in his garage for over 10yrs with 0 use.

He also said it is a very common thing and no big deal as there was no damage to the gears or anything else and the water pump was just serviced 5mths ago.Some people at another place i asked this question that i could run it and be ok as long as i checked it or changed it about every 3mths but i'm not willing to take any chances at all.

The guy that is doing the work for me is doing a complete round of all the seals and o rings in the lower unit he said replace them all it will insure less problems in the future so that is what i'm doing and the cost for it out the door is $150 to $200 which is great from a ton of people i have talked to as i called around to 5 different places before him and the closest was $375 so i think i will dish pout the money as everthing on this motor looks new as it has no use at all.Ok thanks for any input if this is a common problem on lower units.
 

99yam40

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Sep 7, 2008
Messages
9,116
Re: water in the lower unit

Lower unit seal leaks are common, that is why it is smart to check for water in it often to make sure water does not hurt the bearings and gears by sitting in there for long.
Pull the prop and check for fishing line often also, that will eat seals too.
 
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