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Posts: 983
| Gents,
After I drained my lower unit oil of my 60 hp mercury 4 stroke last season the lower unit oil was milky...this made me real nervous but when I took it into my local dealer to have them do a pressure test everything turned out fine and there was no apparent leak in the gear case. Replaced lower unit oil/summerized motor and on to this season I went.
Just drained lower unit oil today and AGAIN its entirely cloudy...Im a novice when it comes to mechanics and repairs of motors (im capable of changing the oil, oil filter, and lower unit oil but havent done much more) but why would the oil be cloudy if there was no apparent leak or anything wrong when they checked it before the season began?
Any input is appreciated,
Mike |
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Posts: 1247
Location: On the Niagara River in Buffalo, NY | Mike, Did you run your outboard motor using a garden hose attachment? If you turn the water pressure all the way up it can leak past the shaft gasket under the water pump into the lowerunit.Better pressure test it again,could be at the shift dog gasket as well. |
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Posts: 540
Location: Leech Lake, Walker MN | Some times when you change the oil there's a small o ring on the upper or lower plug and they some times get stuck on the grease filler and you just don't catch it all the time just an idea |
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Posts: 1727
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | Be sure to use a drag link adjuster to tighten the plugs. VHS sure not to over tighten but in my experience you need more than a screwdriver. |
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Posts: 1887
Location: syracuse indiana | i will say that sometime if you had used cheap gear lub . it will foam up and kinda look milky. i have seen that before. but i would change the screws and gaskets. they only run a few bucks..bill |
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Posts: 719
| All great advice. I've had them be somewhat milky quite a few times and the dealer said it was normal...to a degree. It's not going to look like it did the day you put it in.
Edited by Bondy 11/23/2012 8:45 PM
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Posts: 719
| Might help to check it more often too, maybe mid season. I do mine about 4 times a year for good measure. |
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Posts: 3484
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | archerynut36 - 11/23/2012 8:08 PM
i would change the screws and gaskets. they only run a few bucks..bill
Hiya,
Bingo on this one. If memory serves me correctly on many gear lube screws there are nylon/plastic washers that need replacement now and then. If one of those has gone bad, it can allow water in over time. I would highly suspect those to be the issue, and your problems solved with a quick replacement.
Steve |
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Posts: 403
Location: Lakeville, MN | VMS - 11/23/2012 9:50 PM
archerynut36 - 11/23/2012 8:08 PM
i would change the screws and gaskets. they only run a few bucks..bill
Hiya,
Bingo on this one. If memory serves me correctly on many gear lube screws there are nylon/plastic washers that need replacement now and then. If one of those has gone bad, it can allow water in over time. I would highly suspect those to be the issue, and your problems solved with a quick replacement.
Steve
I just drained mine and found that last time I changed the oil the nylon washer stuck in place and I didnt noice, so this time one screw had 2 washers while the other didnt have one and there was a little water in my lower unit.. paying attention to the little things can often save you from the big things later on!
Josh |
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Posts: 139
| water is getting in. replace the o rings on both screws and that should fix it. |
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Posts: 5874
| If you leave it sit for a few days, any water will separate out and go to the bottom. Oil is lighter than water, and floats. Once it's separates, you can tell how much water is actually in there. Anymore than a tablespoon, and I'd get it checked again for leakage. |
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Posts: 501
Location: S.Wisconsin | Had that happen once before. The culprit was a missing nylon gasket for the fill screw. |
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Posts: 114
Location: Kingston, Ontario | Could be a small amount of line cutting the gasket around the prop as well.
Check it more often if its milky though, should probably change it a couple times a year if you are seeing milky at end of season. At least until you have it sorted out. |
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Posts: 68
| I had a leak in some kind of shifter rod o ring thing. My unit passed the pressure test but when I still had water in the oil thats when they dug a little deeper and found it would only leak while shifting between or into gears. |
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