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Milky gear oil in upper gearcase

G

greg_reichert

New member
"I'm not sure if my first

"I'm not sure if my first attempt at a post went through, so my apologies if this appears twice...
I was hoping someone might be willing to take a look at the attached pic. The boat is a 1985 with an OMC 3.0 liter, and when I drained the gearcases today the color of my upper gearcase oil seemed milky. You can see it compared to the intermediate gearcase oil that is also draining in the pic? Is this something to be concerned about and if so where do I start? The oil being drained was new oil this spring. Thanks in advance...

Greg
220959.jpg
milky?
 
"yeah it's a bit milky pr

"yeah it's a bit milky probably time for a reseal of your upper. You could pressure test the upper, and that might show you where it's leaking. But inspect the plug gasket first. A missing or damaged drain plug gasket can let water in and pressure test won't reveal it because you remove the plug to put the pressure in.
Steering shaft seal a common leaker on those uppers, also the o-ring on the top housing cover (not the top plug, the actual cover).
The missing serial number plate on that upper suggests it might be a replacement upper and often people don't shim the clearance correctly - that will let the upper shift up and down in the exh. hsg. and the top cover oring cant seal if it's moving more than about .040""
 
"Hows the lower look. I see a

"Hows the lower look. I see a black plastick washer in the hole where the plug goes.

Did you ever put new ones when you change the oil in the drives.

Never use a o-ring, plastick washer only.

Home depot has them, west marine has them also, any evinrude dealer has them.

That could be the problem."
 
"Lower unit looked good; just

"Lower unit looked good; just like the intermediate in the picture. I've never replaced the washers, and I honestly don't remember if they were o-rings or plastic washers. Could it be as simple as replacing them even if they were plastic? Should I try this first in the spring when I commission the boat, or should I commence to tearing in/having someone tear in to the unit? As far as a pressure test, what type of gauge would I use and how would I test? Is it a handyman job or a mechanic's job? Thanks so much?

Greg"
 
"honestly, that much water ove

"honestly, that much water over the whole season is probably not going to harm the upper, and you could just change it a few times through the season, but it will get worse before it gets better. You can get one of these kits and follow the instructions.http://marineengineparts.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/media/CDI551-34PV.jpg" You can inspect upper exhaust cover clearance and steering pinion o-ring visually without any special tools."
 
"I had the same problem and th

"I had the same problem and the mechanic warned that it can get expensive if the outdrive does'nt come apart because of the age. He said to pull the boat 1/2 thru the season and flush and replace the oil. He sugested using synthetic oil,that way the water would seperate.At the time of changing the oil you can drain out the water and leave the oil in it.good luck Kevin"
 
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