Re: alpha 1 outdrive clicking when in gear..
for the milky gear lub, ya will need to pressure test the drive to find the leak.
I noticed when I put it in gear and give it a lil gas it clicks, also gets louder when I push in on the propeller. Doesnt seem to click when its lowered
agree w/others. not real good to start your engine with the drive all the way up. in gear or not in gear. assuming it's in neutral, everything in the drive except the prop shaft is rotating when ya start it up. when in f or r, the prop shaft spins too. as for pushing in on the prop? i dunno about that either.
one thought might be that you need to check your ujoints. they can click when worn out when at severe angles. have ya pulled the drive to check them? fwiw, there's other pm to do with drive removed too usually.
go to the adults only sticky thread at the top of the i/o forum. in there you'll find two interesting threads. one for pressure testing the drive, the other for engine won't reach wot spec. plenty of other great stuff in that sticky thread too. good reading.
as for the cap ya cleaned up. replace it. imho, this would be part of a minor tune up. ya might consider a mercruiser cap too. i got a napa one once and the difference was notable between a mercruiser cap and a napa cap. mercruiser being more robustly made. comparison pics available if ya want them.
