Entire outdrive was resealed and I still have milky oil???

[auscarter12]

I recently had the outdrive on my early 70s model Mercruiser 165 completely resealed. The outdrive is a Pre-Alpha (R, MR, I Series). All seals in the upper and lower unit have been replaced with new OEM seals. The carrier assembly for the lower unit was replaced, the carrier seal, as well as the lower drive shaft and the yoke in the upper unit (both had rings worn into the metal from the old seals). The water pump assembly has also been replaced. After getting the boat back, I hooked it up to a hose and ran the motor until it warmed up (about 10-15 minutes). Afterwards, I noticed some milky oil dripping from inside the prop. Upon further inspection behind the prop I could see more milky oil. I loosened the drain plug and the drive oil was milky as ever. This boat has NOT been out on the water since it was resealed - only hooked up to a hose. I immediately called my mechanic and the only idea he had was that a seal did not take somewhere. Has anyone ever had this happen to them before, and if so what was your solution? Any other possible sources for leaks? I'm completely stumped.

 

[biggjimm]

Sounds like it might possibly be leaking at the impeller housing/drive shaft area??? Was the drive pressure tested after the re-seal? Some guys don't advocate it but a lot of guys do. I pressurized mine & caught a loose bolt in the impeller housing that would have surely allowed water to get in the oil.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Your mechanic should have pressure tested. He made a mistake.

 

[auscarter12]

Sorry I'm just now getting back to this. The drive was NOT pressure tested before the boat was returned to me. I have since spoken to the mechanics and demanded that they not only pressure test the drive before returning it to me, but also keep the boat for an extra day to submerge the drive in a bucket of water and run the boat periodically to see if it is going to leak again. They are thinking that the impeller housing is leaking, which was something they replaced. Something about not being able to see the key hole when reattaching the lower unit to the upper unit which could cause a seal to slip off or rip? They have been pretty honest with me in the past so hopefully this will get resolved.

On a side note, the only place my mechanics could think of that would cause a leak was the impeller housing. The boat was never put in the water, only run with a water hose at my home. Is there any other possible place that water could have leaked into the drive with only some ear muffs and a water hose? I'm not familiar with the route that water travels through the drive and motor. Thanks!