Water in gear oil

[WinnerCougar74]

Does this amount of water in my gear oil seem like something to worry about or normal?
I replaced the oil in April 2021.

 

[las]

It's never a good thing to have water in the oil.
It's not normal, but it's not a bad case either and besides a little foaming the oil look pretty good.
If you have to use it before you can fix it I would be very aware of the condition after sailing. Maybe even let it sit for a little while after sailing and then drain a small amount out the drain plug and refill with new oil.
Once left to sit for a while the water should collect at the bottom once it's separated from the oil and by draining a small amount you can keep it in check. If you get any clear water out the drain, or lots of foam, I would stop using it.
But it will not get better and the right thing to do is to fix it before sailing of course!

 

[WinnerCougar74]

The white part always stays foamy. I never have seen water come out of the drain first. This motor sat for about 3 months since the last time it was in the water. Nothing is draining out of the prop seal. So it must be the impeller seal or the shift linkage seal. Both are easier to replace than the prop seal. Seems weird that the foamy white stuff is always there while it is draining. I thought the water would settle to the bottom and eventually it would be just oil.

 

[paulswagelock]

That looks fine to me actually. Is it always like that, or is this the first time. Condensation in the gear case can cause that. Fill it with fresh, and check it again later after some use.

 

[WinnerCougar74]

It was like this in April 2021 when I drained/filled it. Here is a video from when I drained the oil in April 2021. Now it might be a little better. I soaked the seals with ATP AT-205.

 

[racerone]

Gearcases are sealed.-----No such thing as water or condensation should get in past good seals.

 

[jerryjerry05]

NO AMOUNT OF WATER IS ACCEPTABLE!!!
White or foamy oil is water.
If the first thing that comes out is water or white/tan/brown oil.
Then good oil follows? that shows the drain plug is probably the culprit?
I had 4 different 88/85 Forces. All 4 weeped around the drain plug.
Almost everything I did or used let the water in.
I found a screw that had a flat head and put an o-ring on it and that
didn't leak.
To the other posters: a little bit of oil is not ok.
Say a shaft seal was letting a "little" bit of water in? the oil gets changed then that seal decides to die completely and you go boating for a couple days and the lower implodes. No water.

 

[WinnerCougar74]

Thanks for the info on the drain plugs. I bought new plugs and seals. I think the o-ring will work better.

 

[WinnerCougar74]

This is a perfect example of how great this forum is. A very simple thing like o-rings on the drain plugs might save me a lot of time, energy and money trying to find a leaking seal when it was the drain plug all along. A few weeks from now I will check for white foam in the oil again and post my results. With these old motors these little fixes can make the difference between ending up in the scrap heap or running for many more years.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Some more: some drain plugs come with plastic seals, or crush washers.
They are a single use item. Use one time and discard.
You might get away with reusing? but again is that the time it's gonna fail?
The fabric/felt washers work real good in place of the plastic. These can be reused, just turn over and use the smooth surface.
The "newer"??? lower units have an allen head set screw, and they can be hard to seal. Check the oil often.

 

[tg3690]

My drain plug is just a threaded plug...no way to use a seal or o-ring. I put some yellow teflon tape on the threads, seems to work well. The yellow is for natural gas, oil, etc. The Fill and Vent screws have the plastic washer type seals...

 

[racerone]

Most motors have 2 plugs.----Drain / fill and a vent plug with nylon washers..-----Any pictures of this drain plug that does not have a washer ???----What motor ?

 

[tg3690]

No pics at the moment....but if you look at parts diagram at marineengine.com for 1978 Chrysler 85HP 857H8F engine....it show the drain plug and the other 2 up higher on the housing.....Fill and Vent. Part#31 for drain and #44 (2) for fill and vent.

 

[tg3690]

This is a stock pic of the drain plug from marineengine.com......it's just a threaded plug.

 

[lprizman]

Drain it....clean and check everything.... especially the gasket.... refill & run it.... enjoy it

 

[lprizman]

What made you check it???

 

[ahicks]

Are you pulling your prop and checking your prop shaft for fishing line right in front of the seal? Prop shaft splines should be greased annually anyway, so it only takes a second.

You don't try to "locate" a leaky seal unless you have a pressure tester and reasonably fresh seals. Far easier/more reliable is to just reseal the entire lower unit..... which is what I would do seeing the milky oil.

 

[WinnerCougar74]

Thank you for your post. I'm gonna try o-rings. I already used the fiber washer style and got some improvement. Seems like even if the o-rings aren't a permanent solution it could help a lot with determining where the leak is. From what I have heard not seeing any oil leakage on the outside of the housing from the prop or where the 2 pieces split means there are only a few places left. Drain screw washers, shifter rod seal and impeller housing seal.

 

[WinnerCougar74]

Found some good info in a repair manual. Pressurize the gearcase to 10psi. If it leaks put it in a bucket of water and pressurize again and look for bubbles. If no bubbles move the shifter up and down and look for bubbles. Also turn the prop and look for bubbles. When I check the impeller next spring I try this stuff. Seems like good ideas. I used a hand vacuum pump hooked up to the oil pump fitting to pressurize the gearcase once but had trouble finding the leak. This might help find it.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Use soapy water on the possible leak spots???