[Brian]

Hello

I was curious to know what may be a normal useage for an outdrives oil consumption. After about three hours usage on the weekend i need to top up my outdrives oil resevoir. Its about 1" below the fill line. Mercury alpha 1 drive.
Normal/ abnormal? I see no leakage around the hoses or in the bilge area.
any suggestions ideas
Thanks,
Brian

[S.L.P.]

Brian,
I recently had a similar problem w/ my Bravo III. Slowly losing drive oil, could not see any on the water, none in the bilge and none around the reservoir. Turns out the seal in the outdrive to transom was leaking. All the missing oil was inside the bellows. a new seal fixed everything. After running for several hours the oil level stabilized and topped i t off with an ounce or two and had no problems since.
good luck
steve

[Brian]

Thanks. Did you do the repair? If so any advice. I was so hoping to get out this weekend, the weather here is awesome but i seem to be having back spasms so i think it will only be in thought, AARRRGGHHHH.
Thanks,
Brian

[S.L.P.]

The work was covered under my last outdrive service. The Bravo III is a bit too heavy for me to pull. The Alpha is managable,but still heavy and awkward. Pull the lower plug on outdrive and Ck for any water in the outdrive. If there is water, get it to your mechanic asap. I had an alpha that was taking in water, explode while water skiing, gears and oil all over the place.
steve

[Z 202]

Does it do this consistently?

Quite often filling the drive can leave an air pocket which slowly bleeds off and lowers the reservoir level until the void in the drive case is filled. This usually occurs during the first several hours of operation in the season.

Mine was dropping down last season, but it never got so low I felt the need to top it off. I mentioned it to my service guy last fall, and they pressure tested the system before the last winterization, but couldn't find any leaks.

[Brian]

The drive oil must be topped up after every outing. It is down to the first black line each time. No oil in the bilge, no external oil. I figure it is going out at speed while operating.

[jmills224]

Pull the lower drain plug and drain a little gear lube out. If you notice anything that looks milky you are probably loosing oil at the shift shaft seal. If you don't have any water in your drive then it is probably your gear end yoke seal. You can pull your drive off and I would bet your bellows are full of gear lube.

Do the first check by pulling the plug. If no water in the oil, go to your local marine supplier and get a mounting kit (paper gasket and some o-rings). Put your shifter in forward, take off your speedo tube, undo the six bolts and pull your drive off (I usually coax a buddy over with an 18pk of beer). You'll know right away if its your gear end yoke seal.

Let us know what you find out.

p.s. before putting the drive back on now is a good time to grease your coupler and u-joints if they have zerks.

J

[Brian]

Hi and thanks for the response

I have tried to remove the upper plug and i cant budge this thing. If it were a restoration of a car i would have heat on it but i'm sceptical on applying heat to the housing. I can check the oil tomorrow as Mariah has a busy schedule this weekend. I figure i can get the parts at the shop and give it a try, you didnt make it sound so difficult but like everything its the first time and sounds expensive if a mistake is made. I have no doubt i can do the repair and the info you provided is what i was looking for. If there is no water in the oil i wonder if there is any damage that could be done by not correcting the problem immdiately.
Thanks for your time

Brian

[Brian]

How much do you all think the lower end weighs on a alpha one outdrive?

[Z 202]

Drive weighs in at approximately 75 lbs.