bighorse
New Member
This weekend was the first outing of heavy use for my recently acquired 03 200 BR with an Alpha 2nd Gen sterndrive. When I bought the boat, I noticed that the gear lube monitor reservoir was about half way between Full and Add. I put about an hour on the boat several weekends ago while I was troubleshooting another alarm (turned out to be the IAC) and didn't notice any usage.
I ran the boat about 2 hours Friday evening and didn't even think to check the reservoir. After running it a couple hours on Saturday morning, I got a steady beeping alarm (not continuous, and not two beeps every minute). I checked the reservoir and it was nearly empty. I bought some High-Perf lube at the marina and topped it off. I bought the boat used from a major boat retailer and the sales manager told me they changed the fluids before I bought it, so I thought maybe it just burped. I checked it about an hour later and it was down to midway between Full and Add, so I topped it off again. At the end of the day, after maybe another 2-3 hours on the meter, it was down to the Add line. In a total of about 6-7 hours of usage, I've put about 20 ounces of lube oil in the reservoir to get it to the midway mark where I know it was when I bought the boat (plus another ounce or two to top it off).
At the slip, with the engine running, I noticed a little oil on the water just beyond and to the port side of the swim platform, and every few seconds I could see a drop of oil float up and expand on the surface. After my son began backing the boat out of the slip, I realized the drive was turned toward port, so I suspect I'm leaking throught the propshaft seal, and the exhaust flow is pushing the leaking oil away from the transom and out beyond the swim platform where I saw the oil coming up.
I see no external evidence of it leaking, and the rubber drive lube hose from the transom assembly to the upper housing appears to be intact and free from any oil residue. I opened the drain plug today and it was solid dark green oil, so no evidence of any water getting in. The compared the smell of the oil on my hands to that in the quart container and the oil in the drive smells a little burned, although the color looks good. The drive pulled good and I noticed no noises or vibrations to suggest anything is wrong internally, but I was surprised a little by the smell of the oil.
Is the propshaft seal the likely culprit? I don't suspect it would be very difficult to replace. Where else might it be leaking? What would you make of the smell of the oil?
I ran the boat about 2 hours Friday evening and didn't even think to check the reservoir. After running it a couple hours on Saturday morning, I got a steady beeping alarm (not continuous, and not two beeps every minute). I checked the reservoir and it was nearly empty. I bought some High-Perf lube at the marina and topped it off. I bought the boat used from a major boat retailer and the sales manager told me they changed the fluids before I bought it, so I thought maybe it just burped. I checked it about an hour later and it was down to midway between Full and Add, so I topped it off again. At the end of the day, after maybe another 2-3 hours on the meter, it was down to the Add line. In a total of about 6-7 hours of usage, I've put about 20 ounces of lube oil in the reservoir to get it to the midway mark where I know it was when I bought the boat (plus another ounce or two to top it off).
At the slip, with the engine running, I noticed a little oil on the water just beyond and to the port side of the swim platform, and every few seconds I could see a drop of oil float up and expand on the surface. After my son began backing the boat out of the slip, I realized the drive was turned toward port, so I suspect I'm leaking throught the propshaft seal, and the exhaust flow is pushing the leaking oil away from the transom and out beyond the swim platform where I saw the oil coming up.
I see no external evidence of it leaking, and the rubber drive lube hose from the transom assembly to the upper housing appears to be intact and free from any oil residue. I opened the drain plug today and it was solid dark green oil, so no evidence of any water getting in. The compared the smell of the oil on my hands to that in the quart container and the oil in the drive smells a little burned, although the color looks good. The drive pulled good and I noticed no noises or vibrations to suggest anything is wrong internally, but I was surprised a little by the smell of the oil.
Is the propshaft seal the likely culprit? I don't suspect it would be very difficult to replace. Where else might it be leaking? What would you make of the smell of the oil?
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