Lower gear case oil color.

Edson15

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Nov 2, 2002
Messages
96
just drained my outboards lower units and came up with two different colors of oil. my 5.5 (johnson)oil was jet black. my 40 hp rude's oil was an army green color. is this a sign of internal seal damage causing water to enter the oil? may be silly but i'm new to boating and this is troubling me. I thought it may be different brands of oil, but after close examination, i noticed what looks like grey spots. any help would be great. Kiya is actually my dogs name.
 

ob

Admiral
Joined
Aug 16, 2002
Messages
6,992
Re: Lower gear case oil color.

Kiya , Before condemning any seals ,I would just drain, flush and refill gear cases and inspect oil condition from drain plug after use.Black may be just dirty unserviced oil.Army green? Not sure ,but maybe generic brand.I've seen some Lubrimatic oil that had somewhat opaque color when new.
 

whosmatt

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 7, 2002
Messages
145
Re: Lower gear case oil color.

lubrimatic synthetic lower unit oil is dark green in color.
 
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