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Water in lower from ear muffs -after oil change

fin reaper

New member
I checked the oil in my lower unit - it was milky to start with. I put in fresh oil, changed the fill/vent seals and ran it in my driveway for about 5 minutes with the ear muffs. Checked the oil again, and it was milky again.

I would think this points my leak to the water pump seals, right?

'65 Merc 900
 
Yes, that would tend to indicate a waterpump base gasket is shot or the lower (oil seal) on the driveshaft.

Both parts (along with quite a few others) are contained in a waterpump kit...
 
Thanks for the reply.

Next question - Lets say I replace/fix the water pump gaskets, and then find that the lower seals are leaking too.

Will fixing the lower seals require me to replace all of the water pump gaskets again. That is - will I need to pull the drive shaft to remove the prop shaft?

Should I apply any sealant to the water pump gaskets?
 
Since you don't know exactly where your leak is you can save yourself alot of tail chasing by taking it to a shop for a pressure test. That will show definately what is leaking.

As you note, no sense replacing the waterpump base seal only to find that the leak is in fact the o-ring on the bearing carrier.

And NO, no sealant on the gaskets themself, they go on (dry) - and you can remove the propshaft (most of the time) without removing the driveshaft or even removing the pinion gear (as long as you don't want to remove the forward gear - and you don't need to, to do a reseal)
 
Lots of people mistake frothed oil for "milky" oil, so try this test before getting out the wrenches:

Run it again, then let it sit overnight undisturbed before you pull the LU plug. If water comes out, the seals (probably) need changing. But if only oil comes out, you may be okay.


Jeff
 
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