Gear oil leaking

[kpoly]

Alpha 1 Gen II leaking gear oil resulting in gear oil reservoir going empty. It looks like the gear oil was leaking at the opening where the bellhousing mates to the upper unit. Does the seal around the spring loaded ball ever need to be changed and if so, how do you do it? Does the whole piece need to be changed - the seal, ball and spring? Could this seal cause a leak? Thanks.

 

[Bt Doctur]

the dribble valve rarely leaks , the mounting gasket does the sealing

 

[kpoly]

Can the seal that is part of the check valve fail and allow gear oil to leak out? It appears that maybe this could be why my unit is leaking gear oil in this area. A close examination of the bell housing gasket shows where gear oil has leaked from this area.

 

[Bt Doctur]

If the correct gasket was used it should not leak from there, now if someone has pried the drive off using a screwdriver then yes, that will cause a leak

 

[achris]

Is there oil on the floor? Have you pulled the drive to examine the gasket area? Was there oil in the bellows?

Chris........

 

[kpoly]

Bought the boat last year and noted the gear oil leak shortly thereafter. There is no oil in the bellows but did note gear oil running down the gasket when I removed the unit. The upper unit appeared to be properly installed. No evidence of gouging or imperfections of the bell housing noted. I'm wondering if the seal that goes over the ball and spring for the valve can go bad? Looks as though it has a ring around it from where it contacted the housing gasket.

 

[achris]

It's quite normal for there to be a bit of oil leak from the valve when the drive is removed... The other thing to be aware of is that there is a large air space in the top of the drive after the oil is filled up. When the boat is put back into service, that air eventually makes its way out of the housing and up the line to the reservoir bottle, and the oil in the bottle makes its way down and into the drive to replace that air.... Normal to see quite a bit of oil 'disappear' after a service. One of my little tricks to stopping that happening is to fill the drive normally (before I put it back on the boat), then lay it on its starboard side and remove the vent plug. I then top up the oil as much as I can. This reduces the air that will be displaced, and stops people calling me with "my drive's lost oil"....

Chris.........