Scubadave16
New member
I have a 2001 Maxum SCR 2900 with a Bravo 3 and 7.4L. I notice blue oil smoke coming from the engine compartment after any run at 3500-4000 rpm for maybe 10-15 min or more. I figured out the lower unit lube reservoir is dripping onto the exhaust manifold. I could see lube leaking out of the cap and the reservoir which had been at the full line while cold was now completely full. I changed the cap with a new one but still get leakage. I also see a slight oil sheen around the outdrive. I keep the boat in the water on Lake Michigan and have no trailer so its impossible to drain and check the lower unit lube but it does appear foamy at the top of the reservoir. So I have read that this might be due to a leak in the lower unit. Other posts seem to indicate that some oil expansion is normal. I was under the impression that the 80/90 weight oil did not expand unless there is extreme heat or water vapor in there. I felt the lower outdrive but the water is 50F so of course it was cold too.
except for the oil smoke the boat seems to run fine except for a loud hissing at cruising speed which is probably not related.
I went back to the boat today. after all had cooled off I checked the lower unit lube reservoir. it LOOKS perfectly normal now. nice dark blue green color. I dipped a rag in and it smells and looks like normal. so my question is... would water show up there and give the classic milky appearance or would that only be down in the lower unit itself. Is the fluid in the reservoir pretty representative of the whole system? I have had water in the lube in other boats and it is pretty milky. I see none of that. yesterday there was some foamy looking stuff on the surface but sadly i didn't take a sample.
If this was simply a matter of pulling the boat out on a trailer and draining a bit of lube i would say no big deal, but the boat yard wants $750 to pull out the boat and won't even look at it until mid July.
is there any way to check the lower unit lube without pulling the boat?
if there is no milky oil in the reservoir how "bad" would it be to just run the boat slowly until the fall when it will be in the boat yard anyway. of course I don't want to damage the outdrive permanantly, but we only have a 3 month season here and i hate to miss it.
Thanks in advance for any advice
except for the oil smoke the boat seems to run fine except for a loud hissing at cruising speed which is probably not related.
I went back to the boat today. after all had cooled off I checked the lower unit lube reservoir. it LOOKS perfectly normal now. nice dark blue green color. I dipped a rag in and it smells and looks like normal. so my question is... would water show up there and give the classic milky appearance or would that only be down in the lower unit itself. Is the fluid in the reservoir pretty representative of the whole system? I have had water in the lube in other boats and it is pretty milky. I see none of that. yesterday there was some foamy looking stuff on the surface but sadly i didn't take a sample.
If this was simply a matter of pulling the boat out on a trailer and draining a bit of lube i would say no big deal, but the boat yard wants $750 to pull out the boat and won't even look at it until mid July.
is there any way to check the lower unit lube without pulling the boat?
if there is no milky oil in the reservoir how "bad" would it be to just run the boat slowly until the fall when it will be in the boat yard anyway. of course I don't want to damage the outdrive permanantly, but we only have a 3 month season here and i hate to miss it.
Thanks in advance for any advice
