www.iFourWinns.com

Evening, All...

My 2004 350 Mag MPI w/Bravo 3 has two obvious problems related to gear lube leakage and I sure could use some guidance from you.

First of all, I noticed after the winter that the dreaded puddle of gear lube was sitting under my outdrive...apparently coming from the propshaft area of the housing. I immediately thought..."OK, perhaps inner and/or outer propshaft seals need to be replaced."

But then I also noticed that the gear lube monitor hose in the vicinity of the gimbal housing is leaking like a sieve. While obviously that hose needs to be replaced, what do you think the likelihood is that the lube from the hose leak somehow found it's way out through and out the drive near the propellers...? The lube storage tank is very empty, so clearly a good bit of fluid made it's way out somewhere.

I have the outdrive off, and would like to do the work myself if at all possible, but am concerned that replacing the oil seals (doesn't look too hard if I have the right tools to remove the propshaft) will also require significant remeasuring and adjustment of shims, etc. during reinstallation.

Your thoughts and opinions would be most welcome...!

Have a wonderful evening...!

Bob

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2004 Four Winns 234 Funship


Tow Vehicle: 2005 Ford F-250 V10 4x4 Supercrew
1992 Sea Ray 200 - Sold

Simple pressure test will tell you if the prop shaft seals are leaking.

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engine-r ... version-of

Find your drive and it will tell you what you need to know
http://boatinfo.no/lib/library.html

Those are two great sites...!

Thank you for the references. I sure hope those seals are intact and that pressure testing is not terribly difficult.

Bob

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2004 Four Winns 234 Funship


Tow Vehicle: 2005 Ford F-250 V10 4x4 Supercrew
1992 Sea Ray 200 - Sold

Ok, friends. I am in need of advice.

I pressure tested my Bravo 3 outdrive at 15 lbs. of pressure. It holds well for a few hours, but eventually leaks down to nothing. I just can't be sure it's not a slow leak in my homemade pressure tester, the connection to the drive, or the seals in the drive itself. Opinions on how long is long enough? I've read online from 2 minutes to 24 hours. Kind of distressing.

Given those opinions, I am either good to go...or a disaster waiting to happen.

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2004 Four Winns 234 Funship


Tow Vehicle: 2005 Ford F-250 V10 4x4 Supercrew
1992 Sea Ray 200 - Sold

Did you drain the oil out of the drive? Did you remove the drive?
Did you rotate the props to check for the prop seal leak?
Take a soapy solution and put it around all the fittings. You will find where it's leaking

My thoughts:

- 15 lbs for a few hours indicates a pretty good seal.
- I would drain oil to see how much is still in there, or... add oil to see how much it takes.
- if oil level is ok, rub the boat and periodically check for water in oil.
- if the boat sits in the water all season and checking oil is not somilething that can be done on the regular for a period of time, change the seal.
- hire someone to do the work. I'm not one to back down from many projects, but to me this is best left to someone who has done a few with successful results.

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2004 - 288 Vista
Twin - 5.0 Volvo Penta GXi DP

1. Yes, drained the drive
2. Yes, removed the drive
3. No, did not rotate the props due to placement of the stand. Will have to try to do so without killing myself.
4. I used soapy solution all around the fittings, and have since tested the pressure device itself, and have found no leaks. Only thing I have not done is remove props and spray prop shaft area.

I just can't figure out why something would look good for a few hours and then...

Ok...final bit of logic as to why it might not be prop shaft seals. The remote fluid container emptied out. The fluid monitoring hose from the transom to the gimbal housing failed and leaked...and I found approximately two quarts of fluid in the drive when I drained it. Am I going down the right track here in thinking that if it was the prop shaft or some other internal seals, the drive would also be low or empty and not just the remote container above the failed monitor hose...even though I found fluid under the outdrive after the winter...?

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2004 Four Winns 234 Funship


Tow Vehicle: 2005 Ford F-250 V10 4x4 Supercrew
1992 Sea Ray 200 - Sold

One last thing re run your test but with new o rings and/or sealing gaskets for the drain fill plugs. I had my OMC Cobra re sealed about 12 years ago and every year I change those gaskets. I've never seen any sign of water in the gear oil and I change it & set it sit to check for water each season.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

I second this. The first year I winterized my boat I found water in the oil and felt my stomach drop. I put new O-rings on the drain, vent, and dipstick plugs and the drive held pressure for 24 hours with not more than a couple psi of pressure loss. About the cheapest fix I have put into my boat.

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2003 FW 170 Freedom 4.3 GL/SX

OK...you guys are on the verge of hero status with me right now. I used two new o-rings tonight on the drain and vent plugs and re-ran the test. After three plus hours it may have lost a half pound of pressure so far at 15-psi. Very significant improvement, as my tests were showing progressively worse results every time I ran them throughout the week.

Hoping to see a good solid number in the morning.

I'll keep y'all informed. Thanks again...!

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2004 Four Winns 234 Funship


Tow Vehicle: 2005 Ford F-250 V10 4x4 Supercrew
1992 Sea Ray 200 - Sold

It held for more than three hours at ~15 PSI, but was registering zero six hours later even with the new vent and drain o-rings.

Confusing. How can it hold pressure and then....not.

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2004 Four Winns 234 Funship


Tow Vehicle: 2005 Ford F-250 V10 4x4 Supercrew
1992 Sea Ray 200 - Sold

What are you using as the source of pressure/vacuum, and how do you have it attached to the drive?

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Are you sure that the pump itself is not bleeding down pressure?
Do you have a sample of un-contaminated gear oil from the outdrive? If so I'd consider sending it to Blackstone Labs or similar to get the oil tested. I did this a few years ago with my old OMC Cobra and there was no trace of water in the gear oil. While the pressure test is important, the presence of water in the gear oil is telling you the same thing.
Its also a good idea to test your motor oil every few years. I think I got a sense that one of my head gaskets was starting to leak 2 seasons ago because the sodium level (salt water cooled) was just starting to rise.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Hi Lou and Everyone...

My apologies for not responding sooner. Ended up injuring myself last week and couldn't work on anything for awhile. Note to self - always wear protective lenses in the garage from now on. Broke a light bulb overhead and got glass in my eye.

Anyway, to answer your question, Lou - I am pretty sure the pump itself was not leaking, as I tested it in stand alone mode and it held for three hours without an apparent leak.

So, what I've learned since writing is - a Four Winns mechanic shared with me that he recommends testing for 5-7 minutes at 15 PSI. If it holds with air, then it will surely hold with 90W gear oil. Those on the various forums who recommend 24 hours are expecting too much, in his opinion.

That said, I felt compelled to pull off the props and see what I could see. What I found was lots of fluid, but I am presuming most of it is from the deteriorated hose that connects the fluid container on the engine to the outdrive, as I got about two quarts of gear oil out of the outdrive when I drained it. However, just to be safe, I figured I'd replace the easiest seal to get to - the carrier bearing housing seal. I am unsure about the inner and outer prop shaft and their respective seals. I am afraid to start dealing with shims, etc...as the various write ups I find are less than clear to me.

I'll replace the one seal, fix that damaged hose and put it back together and watch it like a hawk.



I do not, as I let it drain into a contaminated container. I will do so after this season with both gear and engine oil. Thank you for the recommendation...!

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2004 Four Winns 234 Funship


Tow Vehicle: 2005 Ford F-250 V10 4x4 Supercrew
1992 Sea Ray 200 - Sold