Lower unit leaking oil.

T

tpbadgers10

New Member
Mar 16, 2014
29
Holmen, WI.
Boat Info
2013 190 Sea Ray Sport. Towed by a 2009 Chevy Trailblazer.
Engines
4.3 Mercruiser Alpa 1 Sterndrive
I have my 2013 Sea Ray 190 in storage in my in-laws garage. They called me tonight to come over to look at the leak on the garage floor. When I got there I could see where oil as leaking on the floor from the stern drive. I've had this boat a year and it never leaked a drop before. I had it winterized by the dealer, so I don't know if a seal broke and that's causing the leak. Its not a lot but you know how oil is on a new garage floor. Anyone have ay idea's why this would be happening? The garage isn't heated but is insulated. Its been in storage for over 4 months and hasn't started leaking until a few days ago. The leak can be fixed but getting that oil out of the garage floor might be hard to do.
 

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Where is the drive oil coming from. Could it be as simple as a seal on one of the drain plugs is missing or not tight?
 
It is up, sorry I don't know all the tech terms of the stern but it looks like its leaking from the top part of the stern where those 2 steel hoses are. I would of lowered the stern but I don't have a battery hooked up.
 
Also the plugs are fine, the leak is above the plugs.
 
Those SS, braided hoses are the hydraulic trim/tilt system and not connected in anyway to the lower unit fluid/oil. The trim/tilt system is not touched during typical winterization - other than to check the fluid level. That fluid will (color) look just like new engine oil. The oil in your drive could either be about that same color or bluish/green in color - check the reservoir bottle on the top of the engine - it is "probably" bluish-green.

Clean everything off real well, attach a battery (or jumper pack) and have someone run the drive up and down while you observe. It might be as simple as tightening the lines, which is pretty self explanatory. FYI - the tilt/trim pump is that motor in the stbd, stern corner of the bilge with the yellow cap.

If it turn out to really be drive fluid, check the "cavity" that is in the front of the drive, by the anti-ventilation plate anode. Did you have the drive pulled/reinstalled?

As far as cleaning the mess - I've never been able to get it out 100%, but I've been pretty good at it. My best attempts have been this: First, get some oil absorber granules from an auto parts store (I've heard kitty litter works, but never tried it). Give that a day or two - pile it on a good inch or two thick. Next, soak some white rags in gasoline in lay them on the spot for a day - add gas if you need to. Lastly, hit the area with a torch and try and burn it out. Obviously, keep the gas soaked rags OUT of the garage while you do this (fumes). But, you can lightly resoak the area with gas a few times while you do the torch thing. Just remember that it's the fumes that get you - not so much the liquid. That's the best I got - maybe someone else can give a better way.
 
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If it is drive oil, you will know it because drive oil stinks to high hell...IMHO
 
Is it blue/green gear lube or brown trim oil? Was the drive removed and lube changed before you winterized? Any other work like done - water pump? Really for it to leak when not running it would have to be:

1. Trim cylinders or lines.
2. Gear lube dribble valve - keeps lube from leaking out of lube bottle when you remove drive.
3. Oil line.
4. Quad seal if water pump was serviced - seals the oil passage between upper / lower parts of drive.

strange that it leaked after 4mos in storage.
 
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No smell at all. The oil was so clear my mother in law tried sweeping it because she thought it was water. So she made a bigger mess than it had to be. My guess it's coming from the tilt/trim. I'll wait until spring and give it a good look over then. If I cant find anything I will have to take it in to the dealer. I have some rubber mats under the drive now so no more should leak on the floor. As far as cleaning It up I've also had a little experience doing that with some success. Thanks for all the info
 
Gasoline and torch in the same sentence.... Dennis, Dennis, Dennis.

Now I know that this has been done a million times, but let's not make the medicine worse than the illness. Apologize to the old man & take the family out to dinner.
 
Very clear oil, drive was lubed and changed before winterization (Oct). Water pump got filled with Sand once this summer so dealer pulled lower unit and replaced impeller and tstat. Worked fine after that and ran about 15 hrs since then.
 
tpbadgers10 said:
It is up, sorry I don't know all the tech terms of the stern but it looks like its leaking from the top part of the stern where those 2 steel hoses are. I would of lowered the stern but I don't have a battery hooked up.
Click to expand...

You may want to consider leaving your drive in the down position.

"Leaving your drive in the "down" position takes stress and strain off of the bellows covering the U-joints. The bellows are stretched when the drive is in the raised position. This eventually can lead to cracking and leaking. Water can get past the gimbal bearing and your boat could sink.
Leaving the stern drive or outboard in the "down" position, whether your boat is in or out of the water, also means less pressure on the hydraulic system. And if you trailer your boat any distance, consider using trailering supports to protect your tilt & trim system."
 
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