Alpha 1 oil leak...

[Steve91T]

This came out of no where. Some history, got the boat last year, ran it all season, had it winterized. I just got the boat back a week ago and have been polishing it along with some other little things. I've only run it on the muffs two or 3 times while trouble shooting a power steering issue. The drive has been in the down position in the driveway for a couple of days.

Today, I raised it about halfway and spent the day cleaning it. Then, while working on the radio wiring, I move the throttle into reverse just to get it out of the way.

I go to the back and find this...

It's coming from here:

We were going to take it out for the first time this season tomorrow.

Please tell me this is normal

The gear oil was changed by the shop, is it possible it was overfilled? If it is a seal, is it something they did to damage it?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[tylermcclintock]

Re: Alpha 1 oil leak...

not normal. I would say you have a seal leaking somewhere. Best bet would be pressure test the drive and put some soapy water on it to see where leak is coming from. Pressure test at about 15 PSI

 

[Don S]

Re: Alpha 1 oil leak...

Leaks are NEVER normal.

Only thing to do is remove the drive, drain the gear lube, then do a pressure check. With about 15 psi of air, spray soapy water everywhere, especially in the front of the drive. Also listen. Many time you can hear the leak.

 

[Steve91T]

Re: Alpha 1 oil leak...

not normal. I would say you have a seal leaking somewhere. Best bet would be pressure test the drive and put some soapy water on it to see where leak is coming from. Pressure test at about 15 PSI

I've been searching the web and found that it's most likely the shift seals. Makes sense being that it ONLY leaked while I had it in reverse for about 30 minutes. Now that it's in neutral again, it's not leaking. Maybe the seal is just starting to go?

What's odd is I had no leak last time I saw the boat, and the mechanic said he saw no signs of water when he changed the oil. This happened over the winter? I guess cold and months with no use do bad things to gaskets and seals...

Is there an how to on how to do this?

 

[Don S]

Re: Alpha 1 oil leak...

The web is not going to find YOUR leak, only what happens to others. Or are you planning on fixing just the common things and move on?

Exactly what drive do you have, you say an Alpha I, but the second picture looks a lot like an Alpha I Gen II. Big difference.

 

[mpdive]

Re: Alpha 1 oil leak...

I think Don has a sticky on it in the adults section. This is the pressure tester I made from Napa parts and a Harbor freight tire gauge. It works great. Cost about 12.00. You use the fitting and hose off the gear lube pump kit.

 

[Steve91T]

Re: Alpha 1 oil leak...

Thanks guys. I've got a Gen II. 1995 350 Merc. I was pretty bummed today. I've spent several days buffing, polishing, and waxing. We couldn't wait to get on the water tomorrow, but that's just how things goes.

The positive is I don't know when the last time the impeller was replaced, along with the bellows. It's been in the back on my mind that it needs to be done, so I guess that time is now.

I read Don's sticky about checking for leaks. Let me ask you guys, seeing that I need to basically do it all, is it worth pressure testing? Let me say, this will be my 1st time doing this. I'm mechanically inclined, but only have standard tools. I do have a compressor.

1st of all, is it worth doing this myself? I really don't want to spend a week working on this thing. Is it something I can do in a couple of days? The other thing is I really need to replace my shift cables, I guess this would be a perfect time to do this. Also, my bellows look fine, but might as well, huh?

With all that said, what can I expect to pay over the cost of parts for this work? I'm just on the fence whether I should do this myself or not.

BTW, I hate paying someone to do something that I am perfectly capable of doing myself, but sometimes it's not worth my time.

I know this stuff comes up all the time, I appreciate your help.

Steve

 

[ktbarrentine]

Re: Alpha 1 oil leak...

I read Don's sticky about checking for leaks. Let me ask you guys, seeing that I need to basically do it all, is it worth pressure testing? Let me say, this will be my 1st time doing this. I'm mechanically inclined, but only have standard tools. I do have a compressor.

Well, Steve... all I can add is that I am a fairly new boat owner, having bought a 1990 20' runabaout with an alpha-1 drive late last year. First boat and no experience, but I am mechanically inclined with lots of auto mech shade tree experience. Through this forum and lots of research, I tackled the impeller replacement not long after purchase... So, it sounds like we may be equals.... In any event, the impeller replacement went flawlessly. Of course that meant oil change and all the seals that go along with that in the "kit". Also did the $12 pressure tester build. Tested the drive and found no problems. Cheap insurance. I would not recommend a compressor for the leak test. A simple bicycle tire pump (with the tester) does the job nicely. I did the job over about a week, mostly because I had to wait on the parts and oil that I ordered on line. But it is easily something you can do in a day if you have everything you need. Just know that you will be in discovery mode if you already know you have a leak but don't know exactly which seal it is until the pressure test, so you wont know just what seals to get. Hopefully your leak will not involve having to pull the upper gearbox apart. Bellows and shift cables are another topic...I haven't tackled those yet...mine are doing fine, so if it's not broke, I don't fix it. Oh, and I probably paid 75 bucks or so for the gaskets, impeller kit and oil, and tester parts to do my job (I know I am probably underestimating, I really have not kept good track... It's boat, don't you know?!). Lots of good parts sites can give you a feel for what you will need to spend. I go to www.crowleymarine.com and www.mercruiserparts.com . Valuable places. I then internet shop for best quality and prices, even going to amazon. Good luck to you. Sorry about the the trip tomorrow. Better to find/fix the problems now. KTB. I'm sure your gonna get lots of other responses and help. This place rocks! (oh, and get a copy of the "right" manual for your drive. You can get that here.)

 

[Steve91T]

Re: Alpha 1 oil leak...

Well, Steve... all I can add is that I am a fairly new boat owner, having bought a 1990 20' runabaout with an alpha-1 drive late last year. First boat and no experience, but I am mechanically inclined with lots of auto mech shade tree experience. Through this forum and lots of research, I tackled the impeller replacement not long after purchase... So, it sounds like we may be equals.... In any event, the impeller replacement went flawlessly. Of course that meant oil change and all the seals that go along with that in the "kit". Also did the $12 pressure tester build. Tested the drive and found no problems. Cheap insurance. I would not recommend a compressor for the leak test. A simple bicycle tire pump (with the tester) does the job nicely. I did the job over about a week, mostly because I had to wait on the parts and oil that I ordered on line. But it is easily something you can do in a day if you have everything you need. Just know that you will be in discovery mode if you already know you have a leak but don't know exactly which seal it is until the pressure test, so you wont know just what seals to get. Hopefully your leak will not involve having to pull the upper gearbox apart. Bellows and shift cables are another topic...I haven't tackled those yet...mine are doing fine, so if it's not broke, I don't fix it. Oh, and I probably paid 75 bucks or so for the gaskets, impeller kit and oil, and tester parts to do my job (I know I am probably underestimating, I really have not kept good track... It's boat, don't you know?!). Lots of good parts sites can give you a feel for what you will need to spend. I go to www.crowleymarine.com and www.mercruiserparts.com . Valuable places. I then internet shop for best quality and prices, even going to amazon. Good luck to you. Sorry about the the trip tomorrow. Better to find/fix the problems now. KTB. I'm sure your gonna get lots of other responses and help. This place rocks! (oh, and get a copy of the "right" manual for your drive. You can get that here.)

It's always great to hear from a back yard warrior like myself! And I'm glad to hear that it wasn't too bad.

What's odd about my leak is that it hasn't leaked at all since that initial puddle that I found yesterday. Once I posted here, I whipped down the drive and moved it to the left, so if it did leak, I'd see another puddle. Not a drop all day. This morning I shifted it into forward and left it for about 30 minutes, no leak. Then I shifted it into reverse and left it. Nothing.

Other than pulling the drive and and pressure testing it, is there anything else I can do to see if it's leaking? Like running it on the hose in gear?

One more question, how did you support the drive once it was off the boat? I've read that engine stands work great, but I don't have one. I do have an engine hoist though. Could I lay it on it's side on a small furniture dolly?

 

[ktbarrentine]

Re: Alpha 1 oil leak...

I took an old wooden table and cut a notch in it to allow me to slide the O/D into the notch vertically and it is supported by the flange (cavitation plate) on the lower half. There are other ideas out there that can be found by searching the threads for "outdrive stands". I think an engine hoist is going a bit overboard....I muscled the drive off the boat (me and my first mate) and carried it to the garage to the stand. I am working an a dolly-stand that will make that job much easier (using 2x4s and an old furniture dolly...saw that idea here a few weeks agao). There are also stands you can buy on the various websites, but thats $$ of course, and I have spending money on that kind of stuff that I would rather spend on gasoline, bait, and beer!.
IMHO, You could run the drive all day on muffs and not have the same affect as running in water at the lake. Some of the problems come not only from oil leaking out, but water leaking in. That's why pulling the drive and doing a thorough inspection/pressure test is never a bad idea, it just costs a bit of time and new gasket/seals for the bellhousing-to-outdrive joint. Lots of guys have found issues with their bellows by pulling the drive, but that doesn't sound like your problem in this case. The true risk would be in trying to rationalize the one-time evidence away in order to get the boat out on the water sooner. This is all just opinion on my part, and I am sure the grey-beards (true experts!) on here can provide more insight.

 

[mpdive]

Re: Alpha 1 oil leak...

If you have a black and decker wormate it works great. Open the jaws all the way and the whole outdrive slides right in and self supports.

 

[dubs283]

Re: Alpha 1 oil leak...

Other than pulling the drive and and pressure testing it, is there anything else I can do to see if it's leaking? Like running it on the hose in gear?

drop it in the lake, cross your fingers and run it

if the drive fails, you know you have a leak - and now need a new drive

or, you could cough up the $12 for pressure tester parts, built it, pull the drive and drain it, and pressure test it - like you are supposed to do

pretty sure a new drive costs more than $12 plus the cost of seals, water pump, bellows, etc...

besides, once you replace the bad seal(s) you need a pressure tester to check the seals

feel free to read the quote below

 

[Steve91T]

Re: Alpha 1 oil leak...

Well, I couldn't help myself. I splashed the boat today. Had it on the water for 3 hours keeping a very close eye on the drive reservoir which stayed the same. Got home and drained a little oil out of the drive, no signs of water. I'm going to keep a close eye on it over the next week or so then pull the drive and tear it apart. I have to replace the shift cables soon as the engine dies once in a while when shifting in and out of gear.

I promise I'm not trying to save a penny here, I just am not ready to tear it apart right now. Now, if I lost oil and/or found water in the drive, that'd be a different story.