bravo III milky oil but holds pressure for days

[2004 searay]

i am trying to locate the cause of the milky oil in my bravo drive. i have had the pressur hold steady at 12, 8, 4 and 14 psi . each pressure held with no drop . ive been working on this for over a week and cant figure out how water got in. im about to just change the drain plugs and gaskets and call it a day. very frustrating.
im waiting on a vaccum gauge to try those pressures. .

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... Have you been turning the shafts, while under pressure,..??

 

[2004 searay]

yes

 

[alldodge]

Was it all milky as in a lot of water or just a little? If just a little then there might have been something that got next to the seal causing it to leak. Then after a bit of running it stopped.

Could put 2 to 3 in of vacuum on the drive and try to see if it holds. If drive gets real hot (many B3's do), when it cools down it can draw in some water. Is outside of drive white and chalky?

 

[2004 searay]

The drive is not white and chalky

 

[alldodge]

Have not seen green milk

 

[2004 searay]

its mint flavored

 

[2004 searay]

ive been using the HP synthetic blend lube the past few years and it has a blue/green tint to it

 

[airshot]

Are the gaskets under the drain/ fill screws leaking ?

 

[alldodge]

Don't see much there, might be a one off

 

[dingbat]

Never had luck reusing drain plug seals. Install new seals every time I open the drain plug

Seals leak in a Vacuum long before they leak under pressure

 

[muc]

Ayuh,..... Have you been turning the shafts, while under pressure,..??

At Merc school they teach us "push-pull. wiggle-wiggle, turn-turn and shift-shift anything that moves".

Remember that the drive must be completely drained during testing.

Very important! Have you pulled the drive to check for water in the bellows?

The first couple of years of the Alpha One Gen2 we needed to stand on the prop shaft to get them to leak, so maybe you're not using enough force during testing?

I've had more then a few that would pass pressure and vacuum tests no matter what I did, but are still getting milky oil during use. At that point all you can do is disassemble and look for the grease between the seals to be "washed" out. If that's the road you have to go down, Start with the prop shaft seals.

 

[2004 searay]

the gaskets on the plugs are new each year, there was no water in the gimbal/bellows.

 

[2004 searay]

Don't see much there, might be a one off

im not sure what you mean by that. the oil is contaminated, its not supposed to be that color, the oil installed was darker. blue/green tint

 

[alldodge]

im not sure what you mean by that. the oil is contaminated, its not supposed to be that color, the oil installed was darker. blue/green tint

Meaning there may have been something that caused the seal to leak, piece of fishing line or other. It moved away from seal and all good

MUC is the guy to pay close attention to what he says

 

[racerone]

Install a seal kit now.-----Cheaper than gears and bearings.----Seals wear out and could be half worn now.

 

[cyclops222]

A 1 time leak ? Might have been a piece of fishline. Remove the prop & thrust washer. See if ANY smeared fishline is melted against the bearing surface. If yes? Post back about it.

 

[muc]

@2004 searay didn't post a serial number so don't know what the weak points of his Bravo 3 version. They had different issues over the years.

Yes there is a problem with leaking, no it won't heal itself. I've seen many techs pull fish line out of prop shaft seals (and been guilty of doing it myself) and they always come back. Anytime lube is leaking out and water is getting in, the grease that's packed between the seals gets washed out. That grease is pretty important.

Does it need a complete reseal? Depends on the age and hours. Anything 5-6 years or older will get a complete reseal when it comes into the shop (we have to warranty the job) friends and family I'll do prop seals, bearing carrier or rear cover up to 10 years.

About the only time I see anyone get lucky is they didn't do a good job cleaning the flat surface of the hole during a lube change or they still have the O-ring style plugs and someone has been using gaskets on them --- works for awhile and then starts leaking.

Based on the lube color, this is probably just sucking in a little water during cooldown. Have you cleaned the remote drive lube bottle lately? They can plug up and not allow the drive to "breathe".

 

[2004 searay]

i do not have the serial # but the boat/engine/drive is a 2008 model

 

[muc]

Year doesn’t help me. Too many mid year changes and drives get replaced. But if it is a never worked on before 2008, probably due for a complete reseal.