Gear Oil Leak

desperado · Apr 8, 2008

Was at my boat today checking everything out and saw some oil buildup in the bilge. My port engine has drained to the "add" mark for gear lube. Looks like it's internal. Guess i'll give the shop a call tomorrow.

Any possible suggestion would be appreciated.:smt089 :smt013
JL

tginz · Apr 10, 2008

Not sure about your exact set-up, but can't you trace the hose from the gear lube montior bottle back to the transom fitting and check for leaks? I developed a crack in my thru-hull gear lube fitting. While I was not too happy about it, it wasn't a difficult fix. I removed the gear lube quick disconnect at the transom, removed the hose at the sterndrive gimbal housing, removed the c-clip in the fitting (inside), and removed/ pulled the fitting out from the the outside. It is not difficult at all as long as you are small enough. I'm not a big guy and still had to do a little contorsion to get in there.

Sorry to hear about the problem. Not a fun thing to find in the spring. Send me a PM if you need more info on the replacing the gear lube fitting through the transom. Otherwise finding a leak at the bottle, hose, or one at the quick disconnects should be easy.

tginz:thumbsup:

tginz · Apr 10, 2008

As an after thought - Are talking about crankcase oil or gear oil/lube for the lower unit???????????

skolbe · Apr 10, 2008

It looks like crank case only in the bilge. It doesn't look blue - like high performance gear lube. Could also be the tilt trim mechanism.

desperado · Apr 10, 2008

skolbe said:
It looks like crank case only in the bilge. It doesn't look blue - like high performance gear lube. Could also be the tilt trim mechanism.

Maybe it is crank case????

What I found is what I thought to possibly be gear lube. Here is the story basically. I purchased the 2006 280DA from a gentleman in MD. I'm in GA. He owns a boat dealership and when I bought the boat it had 58 hrs on it. He had two months prior serviced the drive unit, changed the engine oil and transmission fluid. After he serviced the boat it was shrink wrapped awaiting spring commissioning as it gets cold in MD and it was 0 degrees the day they picked up my boat for transport to GA.

When I received the boat the gear oil reservoir was below add line on both engines. I knew this since after I splashed the boat in the water it was beeping at me from both engines. I added gear lube to both reservoirs and have since put about 10 hrs on the engines. The picture I placed was on this post makes it look actually worse than it is. The oil was really a thin film on top of some water.

I ran my hand as far as I could down the hose and couldn't find a leak. I couldn't get all the way back of course. I talked to the Sea Ray service manager and he told me to clean out the bilge with some bilge cleaner, wipe it dry and take it for a test run and when I get back to my slip, look for any oil residue in the water and if not there try and get a better idea where the oil may be coming from.

I was surprised that when I added some gear lube to the reservoir, I only had to add about 3 - 4 oz.

I really appreciate the input.

John
__________________

Sun Chaser · Apr 10, 2008

Do you have the remote drain hoses? If so, maybe the end plug is not tight.

desperado · Apr 10, 2008

skolbe said:
It looks like crank case only in the bilge. It doesn't look blue - like high performance gear lube. Could also be the tilt trim mechanism.

Email from original owner...... Hope that's it...
John,

I don't think that is gear lube either. Gear lube would have been a dark
green. I think that might be old oil spilled when my tech took the filter
off last fall. If it were new oil that leaked this year, it would not have
been that dirty because it got new oil last thing last fall and has not been
run since until it got to you. If you take out the dip stick, the oil
should be much cleaner if you haven't run it much this year.

I don't remember looking in the bilge after he serviced the boat last fall,
and I didn't get in there before shipping it to you this spring either so
that oil could have been there since the service in early Dec last year.

It is common for a tech to spill oil when they take the filter off but they
are supposed to clean it up.......in this case maybe he didn't.

I think the advice you got from the Service Manager is right. Clean the
bilge and see if it reappears. If it doesn't just forget about it and if it
does, try to find the source and fix the leak.

We use NAPA 15W40 when we do an oil change. Any high grade oil that weight
will work. I am still guessing this is either a spill or something very
simple.

desperado · Apr 16, 2008

Re: Crank case oil leak

skolbe said:
It looks like crank case only in the bilge. It doesn't look blue - like high performance gear lube. Could also be the tilt trim mechanism.

It appears to be crank case. cleaned the bilge and ran the boat for a few miles and checked the engine compartment. saw oil dripping very slowly from front most portion of port engine right behind belt. There is a video (not the best), but it does show where the leak is kind of coming from. May just let the service dept take care of it. Tired of looking. Any input appreciated!

here is the link to video....

http://homepage.mac.com/jlstubbs/iMovieTheater15.html

JL

SR Tech · Apr 18, 2008

I wasn't able to see the video, what pulley its it closest to crank or circ pump? If its by the crank its most likely the oil pan, if its by the circ pulley its probably comming from the Intake manifold. Do you have a oil/water mix leaking or on the dipstick? or is it just oil? Worst case senario...motor was inproperly winterized and your block has cracked.

As far as a tech commenly spilling oil.... as long as he has half a brain, he wont spill a drop.

desperado · Apr 18, 2008

SR Tech said:
I wasn't able to see the video, what pulley its it closest to crank or circ pump? If its by the crank its most likely the oil pan, if its by the circ pulley its probably comming from the Intake manifold. Do you have a oil/water mix leaking or on the dipstick? or is it just oil? Worst case senario...motor was inproperly winterized and your block has cracked.

As far as a tech commenly spilling oil.... as long as he has half a brain, he wont spill a drop.

Thanks for your reply. I'm not sure what it was, but my service manager had some of his guys at MM look at it and said it wasn't that big a deal, but they will repair it and it would be covered under my extended warranty that carried over to me from previous owner :smt001

SR Tech · Apr 18, 2008

ohh, that means the oil filter was loose...

Glad you got it resolved.

desperado · Apr 18, 2008

SR Tech said:
ohh, that means the oil filter was loose...

Glad you got it resolved.

Oil filter loose???? He said it needed front seal. Don't think they would let me get away with labor on a loose oil filter. Also, he would have said "oil filter".

JL

jg300da · Apr 18, 2008

By the signiture for that boat those would be MPI engines and have remote oil filters molunted high, in which case any oil leaks from there would be easy to spot. My guess is front seal.

SR Tech · Apr 18, 2008

Sorry I forgot to put the smiley face after that, its all fun and games. Normally if they say "it isn't a big deal" its something simple that one of the techs just forgot to do. If you have a front seal leak, it is a big deal, techinally any oil leak is a big deal to me.

gerryb · Apr 18, 2008

Don't mean to steal the thread...but I wanted to first thank Chris for his help. Also wanted to throw a question out to you which is admittedly off-season, but interesting to many of us with newer gas engines. How do you fog the MPI engines during winterization? Or do you not fog them at all?

SR Tech · Apr 18, 2008

We bascially mix...
-Gas- 3/4
-Engine stor fog fluid -1/8
-Gas Stabilizer- 1/8
-And I like to add a tiny bit of 2-cycle oil
in a tank and put it in the fuel filter, go through your winterization process and toward your last gallon of antifreeze, chop the throttle a bit and you will see the fog comming out of the exhaust.:grin:

If you don't want to change your filter, simply pop it get rid of some of the gas and top it off with engine stor.

Gear Oil Leak

desperado

tginz

tginz

skolbe

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Sun Chaser

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SR Tech

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