alpha one oil change question

[fendersfender]

1988 270 amberjack, twin 4.3L w/ alpha drives

Winterizing boat and one of my drives wouldnt drain, so i split case thinking that the hole between the 2 halves was obstructed. once case was split oil drained from both halves freely. i checked everything out and seemed ok, so i put drive back together to fill. i filled case with no problems until botom half was full then i couldnt pump any more fluid into case to finish filling. i did, however, manage to completely fill gearcase (to top vent) but i really had to "force" oil into case to do so. maybe i'm missing something here, but i had no problems with other drive at all. any ideas??

 

[fat fanny]

Re: alpha one oil change question

I have no clear answer for that issue of which I myself suffer as well it always seems the last few ounces are the hardest to get in for some reason I just take my time untill shes topped off. do you have resivoir bottles? and if so do you remove the caps and or cap?

 

[havasuboatman]

Re: alpha one oil change question

If you can't get any oil into the upper housing, you have a problem. either the passage is plugged, or you are not venting the upper case.
It can be a drag if you are using one of those little pumps that screw onto the bottle. Try heating the oil in the bottle before you begin filling. Run nice hot water over the bottles. Warm oil flows a lot easier.

 

[fat fanny]

Re: alpha one oil change question

Havasuboatman haven't seen you on in a while. I noticed this issue on mine in the end of August after changing the upper seal in the O/D fluid was very warm indeed out in the sun all day I reallly didn't think much of it the case is completely full up to the vent along with the resivoir bottle.

 

[havasuboatman]

Re: alpha one oil change question

Well, there is always a change in flow once the oil gets to that tiny passage. It slows even more once the drive is full and the oil starts up the hose to the reservoir. But the vent plug (while filling the drive) and the reservoir cap have to be removed. I have left that cap on and blown the hose off the thru hull fitting. What a mess that is. The key is slow steady pumps, or low pressure if you use air.
I took an old steel scuba tank and put a brass tire valve stem in it. Modified the first stage for a hose and made a screw in fitting for the filler opening. Then modified a personal oxigen tank dolly to move it around with. But I do a lot of drives, not just my own boats.
I can put a case of lube in the tank and 10 PSI air. The slower you fill the drive, the less likely you are to leave any air trapped in it.
But when you fill clear to the bottle, always stop pumping when the bottle is only half full. It takes a few minutes for the level to stop rising.