arghh!! water in the gearcase.

[skimmer]

Well I finally got round to draining my gear oil today, I'm putting a new impellar in tomorrow unscrewed the drain plug and out came a substance that resembled the cup of coffee I had that morning... the seal on the oil level plug was stuffed and stuck to the thread. i'm tossing up wether I should dissasemble the whole lower unit and clean it all out which means obtaining tools that I don't have or just putting the new impellar on, buying new seals for the oil plugs and filling it up with fresh oil. shouldn't need a pressure check as i'm 98% sure its the level check seal, just trying to work out whether its worth going the whole hog while i've got the lower unit off anyway. Going past the pump will be new territory, looks like a pretty big job plus you need a special tool to get the cover nut off
hmmm what to do, what to do. Any thoughts?

 

[gss036]

Re: arghh!! water in the gearcase.

Put fresh lube in it and run it a few times to see it still makes coffee w/the new seals. Just my nickles worth.

 

[diaric]

Re: arghh!! water in the gearcase.

most common water leaks are filler screw seals, change them. next is the water pump base which seals the top of the gear case. least common is prop seal. when you have lower unit off, pressure test it, then if its water pump base your already there to fix. u can blow no more than 5 psi in the filler and see where it comes out. you can also fill your lube, replace vent screw, then give a couple gentle pumps from lube pump if hard, alls good, if not you should see it under water pump or hear it come through prop seal

 

[skimmer]

Re: arghh!! water in the gearcase.

Thanx fellas, thats what I wanted to hear, didn't want to turn a small job into a big one.

 

[phkr]

Re: arghh!! water in the gearcase.

I also would bet it's the plug seals. While you have them out look up in the hole and make sure there isn't part or all of an old seal stuck in there. This will also cause leakage. Also when you put in your new impeller make sure the fins are going the right way or they will just break off when you start the first time. Good luck!