Leaking tranny

Borg Warner 71 trany behind 35

Borg Warner 71 trany behind 350 crusader. Started leaking. Saw mist/spray pattern up against one of my sanitation hoses about 18inches away from the transmission. I also have drips maybe a tablespoon or 2 on the diapers under the transmission. Marine mechanic at the marina told me that sometimes if I rev or accelerate quickly in reverse it will spray past the seal. I checked my fluid level and i did over fill when i serviced my trans. Does this sound right? If i drain some ATF from my trans should this stop or did i blow out a seal? Trans was completely rebuilt 2 years ago.

"Overfill may escape the vent

"Overfill may escape the vent on top of the tranny. If the real seal leaked, I wouldn't think the fill level would cause that. There is also an oil cooler fitting/filter mounted low down there."

"Overfilling it shouldn't

"Overfilling it shouldn't blow out any of the seals. If you put a lot of 'extra fluid' in, it will come out the vent.

Seal leaks on the shafts usually 'sling' the fluid and make a pretty good mess. If you have a 'squirting leak', it's usually pressurized fluid. The drips are the easiest as gravity pulls them down.

Removing the excess fluid is a good first step."

But DON'T underfill it! Th

But DON'T underfill it! There's only two quarts of fluid in there and riunning it a mere cup low will fry the tranny.

Jeff

"My leak is a spray/sling type

"My leak is a spray/sling type. I can sit tied up to the dock all day with my boat in gear and spinning the prop and not a drip. Does it make sense what the mechanic said about revving hard while in reverse will cause fluid past the seal? Quite often than not around where I dock I come in with my port engine at idle speed forward and the starboard in neutral, as I get close I have to put the starboard in reverse to spin the boat into position to the slip. quite a few times at the last moment and hard reverse to spin her to quickly. The aisle is narrow and at tide change the current is a river. A still boat will move from 3 to 5 knots just with the tide. My dip stick was marking above the full mark. I drained to a scratch under the full mark."

I would think that you could s

I would think that you could see this happening. Can you get someone to run your boat while you eyeball the tranny?

Jeff

"Good old white paper towels a

"Good old white paper towels are also handy. The pink in the fluid contrasts very well.

The fluid takes a different path, internally, in reverse. It may help if you tell us which seal you suspect is leaking in reverse."

"My model 72's have had ze

"My model 72's have had zero rear seal leaks for 10 years. Until, the port side now has a few TBspoons now and then. It has 11 years on its seals. I can't tell if there is any relation to hard reverse, which it sometimes gets."

"My 1984 vintage Warner 1.91:1

"My 1984 vintage Warner 1.91:1 port reduction gear starting leaking a fair amount at the rear seal between the gear coupling and the rear of the case. It didn't sling the fluid too bad but several onces appeared after each run on an oil abosorbent pad placed below the coupling.

On Saturday during a good blow kicked up by the remants of Danny I took a new rear seal ($8.00), a 2 foot long 3/4" breaker bar, a 1 11/16" socket, a 3' piece of pipe (for added leverage), and a small crow bar down below and went after it. After unbolting the coupling and sliding the shaft all the way back (about 5-6"), the was barely enough clearence to get the 3/4" breaker bar/socket in between the two couplers. I found the the only possible way was to come at the coupler nut from a slight angle. After locking the coupler from turning by bolting a crow bar to it, I was able to break the nut free with the use of the pipe extension on the breaker bar. The coupler nut is locked on with torque in excess of 200 ft/lbs so you definitely need the big guns for this one. Note that after removing the coupler nut the coupler will slide off the spline and about 2 quarts of ATF will follow, so its best to remove the ATF before starting.

After carefully removing the seal with the crooked end of the crow bar (it was rusted in there pretty good), I inspected it. The previous "mechanic" had used orange RTV to "fix" the leaking seal. Its hard to believe that after getting the whole thing apart, RTV would be employed instead of an $8 seal, but there it was. Can you say "Mickey Mouse"?

After removing the RTV from the seal bore with some Scotchbrite the new seal was carefully tapped in with the breaker bar end (minus the socket) and the coupler replaced. I applied as much torque to the coupler nut as was possible under the circumstances (3' of head room and limited clearence for the bar/pipe combo), bolted up the coupler halves, and called it a day. I was warned by the gear shop that it might spin free if inadequate torque was applied to the coulping nut. If it does a better man than me will have to retighten it because I gave it all I had.

After a long run on Sunday no leaks were observed...."

Pat yourself on the back for a

Pat yourself on the back for a great job done well!

Jeff

"Tom,

Congratulations....I

"Tom,

Congratulations....I can only imagine the positions you put yourself in to get this done and the forces you place on stuff to loosen and tighten it. As I have aged a bit more I begin to dread these stories I read about the places these parts are located in, that now need repairs.

As Jeff says, Pat yourself on the back."

"Thanks guys. Might left arm

"Thanks guys. Might left arm was on fire after lying across bolts, battery terminals, and other assorted garbage for about 3 hours and cranking with all I had. It was the pain that prevented me from patting myself on the back, but I've since recovered enough to congratulate myself."

"I've seen them get loose

"I've seen them get loose but never come apart...the coupler , when mated, "captures" that nut.

Aren't you suppose to conclude the threads you start with the "success story" vs. "hijacking" another thread????

Glad you got soemthing productive out of this weekend."

"If the coupling nut turned al

"If the coupling nut turned all the way off and the shaft slid back (both possible, especially the shaft sliding back), the shaft and gear would indeed completely disengage.

I wanted to complete my own thread but Diver Dave and others were kicking this one around and it was current so I thought it would be best to provide the benefit of my experience here at the risk a slight hijacking violation.

It was a great day for working down below and absolutely terrible for most anything else."

"Tom,

That is such an uncom

"Tom,

That is such an uncomfortable position that when we have to get in there like that we take an old chaise lounge cushion and lay it across the batteries, stringers and whatever else is in the zone...THEN after sacrificing the days worth of energy in a few short hours doing all that, either my brother or myself just lay back on the cushion until some minute level of strength or desire arises to get back up and out of that hole. IF it is raining....it arrives at that point sooner than later !

Good to see it is done. Now waiting for the next shoe to drop"