Metal in oil

"I just bought my first boat a

"I just bought my first boat and it has a omc cobra (1989). I checked the drive oil and it was full of very small silver flakes, beleived to be metal. I have not ran the motor or drive yet. I beleive the boat has not been in the water for at least 2 years. Should I just change the oil and run a short peroid of time and recheck the oil or do I need to have it looked at? Should it be easy to know what parts are worn if I take it apart?"

"SOME metal particles has to b

"SOME metal particles has to be expected. Suggest a thorough drain and flush with kerosene, then air to blow that out, followed by an overnight drain and refilling with lube.

Then go boating and keep your fingers crossed.

Jeff"

"a good way to descripe this i

"a good way to descripe this is it looks like black apint with silver glitter.
I have not drian it yet put so far where was no pieces at all. I know if there is, that is trouble. I was going to at least keep a simple and then run it if nothing else.

Thanks Jeff for your reply,
Scott"

"Stop, its got a serious probl

"Stop, its got a serious problem if there is metalflake in the oil. That outdrive is one of the most expensive to repair these days. You are only to hurt other expensive parts. Is the oil milky? At a minimum the drive needs to be pressure and vacuum tested. If your hell bent on running it, put muffs on it in the driveway and use a long screwdriver against your ear and listen to spots on the drive for moans and bearing noise, maybe that will get your attention."

"UPDATE, I removed all of the

"UPDATE, I removed all of the oil.
Good news, There is a cover plate on top of the omc. I took it off and the upper gears are right there. The gears are in good shape (upper unit).

Bad news: there was a piece of metal (gear) laying partly under one of the gears. It was rubbing the back side of the gear- the broke piece was worn-making metal flakes. This piece did not come from the gears that are there (goood news).

I'm assuming the broke piece has came from a gear in the lower section or the gears have been replaced and it was not removed (thoroughly cleaned) when the gears were replaced. I say replaced because there is a 'cover nut' (what the parts drawing calls it) that is under one of the gears that shows sings that someone had a tool on it and it slipped off.

How much 'play' should there be in the gears? There was some in the upper gears but I would say there is 90% more in the lower gears. I could move the prop back and forth more then I think I should be able to. I could hold the upper gear in place and it seem like I could move the prop just as much --- a lot of 'play' in the lower gears!"