Lower Unit Oil color?????

[browns]

ok, admitted newbie... have 1972 johnson 50... had some earlier problems and you folks help me determine i needed a new stator... great... so NOW, i winterize the motor and i drain the lower unit and the fluid comes out looking like coffee with cream....so neighbor says drain it completely, which i did.... please tell me not to worry too much about the color... and that there is some water in it, but not a huge deal... is that the case? what would the problem be? damaged motor?

any feedback would be great...
tx tom

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Lower Unit Oil color?????

You have water intrusion into your lower unit. The number 1 spot for that is the drain and vent screws, were there new gaskets in there? They should be replaced every time you have them off. I would change the fluid to a synthetic blend, install new gaskets, and check it again shortly. If there is more "milk", you will need to do a pressure test. By the way, the water will sit beneath the oil, at the bottom of the resevoir, so it will come out first when you remove the drain screw.

 

[browns]

Re: Lower Unit Oil color?????

High trim... you have been very helpful to me... i live right across the pond in rochester... when i opened the lower plug... it all came out that color, not water first... i had it serviced at the beginning of the season and they put new gaskets on the plugs......whjat other areas of intrusion can occur?

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Lower Unit Oil color?????

Ok there are a few other locations then, you should probably get a lower unit seal kit from you local BRP dealer and change them all, if the whole mixture was milky white, you probably have a pretty large leak, and if 1 seal has gone bad, it is quite possible the others arent far behind. Do you have a manual, you will need 1 to do this.

To pressure/vacuum test a lower unit:

a) drain the gear oil
b) use an appropriate adapter with a gauge tee'd in to apply pressure or vacuum. No more than 15 psig for pressure. You can use a bicycle pump or any other compressed air source for pressure. For vacuum, you need a vacuum pump.
c) LU should retain some pressure or vacuum for 45 minutes minimum.
d) If pressure doesn't hold, submerge LU in water to find leak source [possibilities: drive shaft seal, prop shaft seal(s) (usually two), shift shaft seal and the fill/drain screw washers.]
e) replace offending seal(s) as required.

Hello neighbour, the "pond" is getting kinda cold eh, lol

 

[Vic.S]

Re: Lower Unit Oil color?????

In my book the prime suspect is the outer seal on the prop shaft. That's the one that can get damaged by fishing line and other debris. I'm not sure about that model but often/ usually there are two seals back to back so that one keeps the oil in (the inner one) and the other keeps the water out. You'd replace both normally anyway.

Don't forget that a pressure test can come out OK but if water is getting in its the vacuum test that will fail if its a seal.

Actually never had any leak via the drain or level plugs and never replaced the washers on them!