Gear oil leak on alpha 1

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when my out drive is in the trailer position I noticed a small drip of gear oil on the driveway. Seams like its coming from some kind of linkage between the upper and lower unit. I can see this if I lay under the out drive and look up thru a hole with a flashlight. Does this have anything to do with the shift cable? Should I not put the boat in the water like this? It drips about a 1 12/ stain in about 7 days.

 

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Re: Gear oil leak on alpha 1

Sorry, that should say a 1 1/2 inch stain

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Gear oil leak on alpha 1

Drives don`t leak,Period.Find the cause or you`ll be finding a new drive or a large repair bill in your future.
The area your looking at could be the shift shaft bushing.

 

[JnS]

Re: Gear oil leak on alpha 1

my tilt leaked a bit the other day when I let it sit up. which I think will happen from the pressure of the drive on the tilt. put the drive down and it does not leak.

 

[Don S]

Re: Gear oil leak on alpha 1

my tilt leaked a bit the other day when I let it sit up. which I think will happen from the pressure of the drive on the tilt. put the drive down and it does not leak.

Lot of difference between your OMC 400 and a Mercruiser Alpha. Not even the same animal.

 

[bamadave]

Re: Gear oil leak on alpha 1

If the drive leaks, water can infiltrate the drive. Get it fixed or you're going to be paying more later. Much More!

 

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Re: Gear oil leak on alpha 1

Can the shaft seal be replaced by removing the lower unit?

 

[Don S]

Re: Gear oil leak on alpha 1

Can the shaft seal be replaced by removing the lower unit?

You can't replace any shaft seal by removing the lower unit, assuming you are talking about the prop shaft seal, and not the vertical shaft, shift shaft, or input shaft, then you have to remove the bearing carrier from the lower unit to remove the seals.
Also assuming you have an Alpha I and not an Alpha I Gen II drive, here is a link to the service manual so you can actually see how to do the job properly.

http://www.boatfix.com/merc/Servmanl/6/6covr3.pdf