Alpha 1 Gen II - leaking water??

[rktktpaul]

Since I'm going on my 4th season, I decided to change the impeller on my Alpha 1 Gen II over the weekend. Disassembly and reassembly went smooth. Used the Mercruiser manual, bought the Mercury kit, replaced all the o-rings that came in the kit, etc.

I hooked up the muffs, had my son start the motor, waited a little longer to see the outflow come out of the transom, and said "Cool! I did it!!". And then I saw water running out of the starboard side of the outdrive.

At first I thought that it was leaking from the mating surface between the lower and upper units. But when I took a closer look, I actually saw a drainhole just above the forward bolt/nut location where the water was coming from.

I've had the muffs hooked up on this outdrive a number of times and can't for the life of me recall if I ever saw water coming out of this location or not??

Outflow was good, I let the motor warm up till the t-stat opened, even increased the RPMs to 1200. Water temp went to 170 degrees and stayed there.

Should I be worried about the water coming out of this drainhole??

 

[Lazy Daze]

Normal. Some of the exhaust water can come out there. Most exhaust water that is already going that way will go out through the hub. The shift connector is inside there and those holes allow any standing water that may collect to drain out.

FYI: Sometimes, you may see a bit of drive oil collecting there, too. That's normal, too - to an extent, of course.

 

[rktktpaul]

Dennis, thanks a million!! I can stop turning blue now!!