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Water in Outdrive

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ruckus3313

Regular Contributor
"Hello all,

My brother in l

"Hello all,

My brother in law has a 1978 Merc 165 I-6 with alpha drive. Drive only has 5 hours on it since total rebuild.Went to winterize it yesterday and pulled the bottom drain plug to check condition of the oil and its already Milky. How can this be?? Bad seal already?? Can anybody send me a link to that outdrive oil reservoir kit??Thanks for any help provided"
 
"definately, they missed somet

"definately, they missed something, guess they didn't pressure test it !!"
 
"Brian,

yeah no crap. guess

"Brian,

yeah no crap. guess we better do that to find the culprit seal!! What a pain it can be.thanks for the help. i still cant find a remote oil reservoir for this outdrive anywhere. I found one once but can not now???"
 
"Guy,

Weirdest thing ever,

"Guy,

Weirdest thing ever, i looked up and down for that remote reservoir kit and couldn't find the proper part for this application.BAM!! eBay motors had it on the 3rd item down???I feel like a real genius now lol...!!thanks... I'm not too familiar with the Mercruiser but is this the correct kit. I'm almost 99% sure it is.. Now we just gotta find the leak fix it and install one of these bad boys so we don't have to worry about water getting in.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercruiser-Gen-1-Remote-Gear-Oil-Reservoir-Kit_W0 QQitemZ130340707868QQcmdZViewItemQQptZBoat_Parts_Accessories_Gear?hash=item1e58e 95e1c"
 
"Looks like that would work bu

"Looks like that would work but it`s purpose is to tell you somethings leaking gear oil.Will not prevent water intrusion.Common areas are shift shaft seal, pump base seals, pump base gasket/O ring, upper unit shaft and oil seal."
 
"Doctur,

Thanks. I will sta

"Doctur,

Thanks. I will start some diagnostics this weekend. However, on the remote reservoir I was under the assumption they use these to put positive pressure on the out drive and if there is a leak it pushes oil into the water instead of water coming into the oil??I thought someone from this forum was telling me about it. However, you are the Doctur!!!I'm just a novice.Thanks again"
 
"Jesse.
As Bt Doctur suggeste

"Jesse.
As Bt Doctur suggested, the reservoir only gives you a visual of what is happening to your outdrive fluid. It is just a tube attached to your lower unit with a tank on the top. If its milky in the leg, it will be milky in the reservoir. The newer versions have a built in alarm if the fluid level in the reservoir drops too low, indicating a leak somewhere. The leak is also a good indicator that water will be coming in. If that leg only has 5 hours on a rebuild, I'd be looking to whomever did the rebuild. I'd think that the leg would have to be removed and some retrofitting done to install the tube and reservoir. I ran an Alpha 1 for 30 years without the reservoir and didn't miss it. It is a handy feature, but good maintenance will serve you well without it."
 
"The caps are vented because a

"The caps are vented because as the oil warms a bit ,it expands and goes in the bottle."
 
"i wouldn't install one. T

"i wouldn't install one. The plastick nipple always breaks on them.

I don't think the alpha one will leak at the shift shaft bushing thats a alpha two problem.And they came up with a fix for it.

The prop shaft seal maybe fishing line got wrapped around the shaft and destroyed the prop seal, the upper shaft seal,And heres the one i really think it is if not the prop seal, the DRAIN PLUGS.

What happens is the plastick washers are not there, they used o-rings instead of the washers or no washers there at all, or old washers."
 
That is the same one I put on

That is the same one I put on my 1987 Alpha 1. No need to remove the OD. Must drill thru the transom for the tube. I sealed the wood in the hole w/epoxy although it is well above the water line.
 
"Thanks Guy,

I ordered kit

"Thanks Guy,

I ordered kit and gonna fix OD this weekend!! Ill post an update to let everyone know how things went"
 
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