Help Drive Lube is GONE!!!

tphinney

tphinney

New Member
May 25, 2007
558
Tampa Bay
Boat Info
240 Sundancer 2004
Engines
5.0 MPI w/ Bravo III
So I'm out on my dock today and I notice an oil sheen under the boat ( Boat is up on a cradle lift) . kind of like a drop of oil. I go aboard and notice that my drive oil resevoir is Empty, not just low but bone dry!!!.

so been check the manual in preperation to check what the heck is leaking and it talks about some device for pumping drive oil up fromt the drain hole up into the revsevoir. can some please help me out on the procedure to fill a bravo III.

any help would be appreciated. thanks.
 
I don't have all your answers, but I've read you fill it from the bottom up to keep air out. You fille from the drive by pumping it in till you get about 3/4 full in the resevoir and then you top it off at the resevoir.

The issue though is where did it go and why did it go.
 
You don't know that the stern drive is empty, yet. I suspect it isn't. Remove the little screw on the side of the stern drive near the top. If oil runs out, put it back and thank God (religious input). If oil runs out, I would guess that the tube that runs from the reservoir to the stern drive is leaking or disconnected (outside the transom, if that is truly the source of your shean).

I would still check for oil in the bilge. It may be a Republican conspracy to sell more oil. Or, perhaps a democrat came by in the night and removed your filler screw to protest your contribution to Global warming (political input).
 
Oh, yeah. If, on the other hand, there actually is a huge leak in the stern drive, you should be able to find the source by following the oil trail uphill from the bottom of the drive. Use a clean, white tissue to test areas as you go. The green lube should show up well as you follow the trail along.

Do you pull the drain plug when you hoist it up? Check for lube draining out of the drain hole. The reservoir itself may also be leaking, but I bet it's the fill tube between the res and the stern drive.
 
Tom to refill your Bravo III you must first drain all of the oil fluid out.

1. Obtain a suitable pan to catch a couple of quarts of drive fluid
2. Remove lube reservoir cap
3. Remove the lower drain plug as seen in this picture. Fluid will begin to drain.

116541589-M.jpg


4. Open remove top vent hole screw which will allow the lube to drain faster. This screw is on the top portion of the drive on the same side as the drain screw. Screw should be the same size (if memory serves me) and comes out with a large flat head screwdriver. Sorry no picture of this.


Once the lube has finished draining you would use a pump like this

http://www.mercurypartsexpress.com/...02891K+2&store=Accessories&compName=&compSKU=

to pump the fluid in front the drain hole (bottom) not the vent hole. The pump screws onto Merc High Peformance Gear Lube + quart bottles and the other end threads into the drain hole.

1. Pump fluid in until a good amount of lube begins leaking from the vent hole. Quickly replace the vent hole screw at this time.

2. Continue to pump until fluid shows in the bottom of the reservoir (a helper can be handy for this).

3. Once fluid present in the reservoir stop pumping and remove pump from drain hole and quickly replace drain hole screw. There is no trick to doing this in a clean fashion... you will get better with time. Lube will leak out when you remove the pump.

4. Fill the reservoir to the appropriate level.

Now before I would do any draining or refilling I would determine the source of the leak. You may want to have your service person perform a pressure test on the outdrive if you can determin that the reservoir and rubber line to the outdrive is not the source of the leak. Good luck I hope this helps.
 
For now the real issue is whether you have a significant leak or not. If you see no signs of oil on the drive itself, then just top off the reservoir and keep an eye on it. If the oil in the reservoir drops quickly after using the boat or after it sits awhile, then you need to find the source of the leak. If you don't see anything, then the drive needs to be pressure tested and that will show where the leak is occurring.

Bravo 3s tend to use some oil particularly after the fluid is changed. Often they will require one or two fillings of the reservoir as air escapes the outdrive. If you had your fluid changed recently, that could also be the cause of the empty reservoir.
 
jeremy;

the link to the pump has timed out. any chance you send me a description or screen capture.
 
bad news looks like the oil is coming from the props which means the drive needs to be pulled. :smt089 now comes the hard part of getting the boat over to the dealer with out blowing up the drive.

I need a tow.
 
I'd offer you a free Tow, but I left my boat in Punta Gorda at my inlaws house since were are going back down there.

Will MM give you a free tow? Seems like they should since they will ask for your arm and leg to fix whatever the problem is :grin:

GOOD LUCK!
 
Well. . .leaking from the prop . . .is that "leaking slowly at the prop", or "lost it all in 20 seconds from the prop?

In terms of a tow: I know SeaTow will do this for free if you have been a member for more than 30 days.

Or you could use a pro-hauler.
 
Tie the props off. You don't want this unit spinning under tow. It should be really easy with counter-rotating props. Tie the blades from each prop to the one in front of / behind each respective blade. It they start to spin, the lines will tighten and stop it.
 
It's a slow leak.

In talking with the Services guys they advised me to make sure the drive is full of fluid, before I attempt to take it over to them. I'm about 10 Miles for the MM Clearwater store via water.

I picked up the drive pump and could fill the dirve to make sure it's full before I head out ( If I can't find a Tow). any thoughs on whether I should drive it over or not?
 
Tom

You only use that pump when changing your fluid. I suppose you could just go ahead and change it but why not check and see if it's already full first? To be sure the drive is full you need to remove the vent screw on the drive with the drive in the down position. If fluid comes out it should be full. Here's a web site you can also look at for some additional information
http://www.mercstuff.com/driveoil.htm
You will also need to top up the fluid in the reservior or you will get an audible alarm.
 
my though was this since the resevior is attached to the drive. I should be able to fill from the bottom forcing any Air that got into the system out back up to the resevior. Once I have oil topped off in the resevior I can be pretty sure that the whole system is full and it should give me enough oil in the system to go the 10 miles. to get to the MM dealer.

or Do I really need to pull the vent plug and what am I missing?
 
well your saving about 8-10 seconds in not pulling the vent plug.... and making it harder to pump the lube in.... once you reach the vent plug (fluid coming out) you can pump into the reservoir (I do) but you will notice it takes more effort to pump. The drive lube pump is not exactly heavy duty..... at the end of the day it is your 8-10 seconds :smt001
 
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