Possible to repair leaking oil reservoir?

[blued]

I have a leak from the gear oil reservoir for my Alpha One Gen 2 which sits up on the manifold of my 2006 Mercruiser 3.0L. When the boat is in gear the oil is dripping where the wires for the sensor come out at the bottom. Ironic that the sensor that is meant to alarm me to low oil level is the cause of losing the oil!

I've priced a replacement and it's $195 AUD. I can order from the US on ebay for around $95 AUD all in but looking at 3 weeks for delivery so need a short term fix.

Has anyone successfully repaired this problem with some sort of glue or sealant? I've attached a photo of the part in question.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Short term fix would be to remove the bottle and clean the area with a solvent that leaves no residue. Use Black oil resistant RTV from Permatex.
Apply and let fully cure . remount and refill bottle.

 

[blued]

Thanks for the reply, a local store stocks Permatex Ultra Black RTV Silicone Gasket Maker - Maximum Oil Resistance. I'll pick some up tomorrow and give it a try.

 

[smokeonthewater]

My short term fix would be to remove the bottle and plug the line... Maybe drain an ounce from the drive to leave room for expansion.

If you don't like that then get ANY bottle/tank that you can hook the hose to.

Heck, a 20 oz soda bottle with a hole drilled in the cap, insert hose so that it reaches near the bottom... Secure bottle and done.... Doesn't have to look pretty...

The only purpose of the bottle is to act as a sight glass so you can see your oil level.

 

[alldodge]

The bottle has a one way valve in the cap. The cap allows air to come in but not out. When the drive gets warm/hot pressure increases, if the cap did not resist the lube would increase in the bottle and over flow. The pressure increase is the main reason your leaking.

If the RTV doesn't fix it I would suggest 3M 5200, but this takes 7 days to cure fully. 3M 4000 would be my second choice

 

[Bondo]

My short term fix would be to remove the bottle and plug the line... Maybe drain an ounce from the drive to leave room for expansion.

Ayuh,... A 3/8" bolt, 'n little hose clamp is the perfect plug,....
Then pull the vent plug at the top of the drive, when oil stops runnin' out, put it back in,.....

 

[blued]

I think I'd rather stick with a bottle so that I get the low oil warning, although my previous boat with Alpha One had no reservoir so I'm sure removing temporarily would be fine.

I applied the Permatex sticky gasket stuff last night so will see how it goes.

 

[ralphy670]

Mine did the same thing. I used jb weld epoxy where the wires exit on the sensor as that's where mine was leaking. Worked great and that was 2 years ago.