I just changed my gear oil in my alpha drive and when I went inside the
boat to to off the resivoir, I noticed some gear oil in the bilge. Any
ideas where the oil is coming from? i already checked the hoses from
the resivoir tank and thay are fine.

I had the same problem last fall (gear oil in the bilge). When I pulled
the outdrive off in the fall there was oil in the bellows (around the
U-joints). Turns out the upper seal was gone in the outdrive and had to
replace it.

Mark
The Rail, Canopy, & LifeLine (accessory) Hook guy
www.ripnet.com/vtf/prod03.htm

"Jeff" wrote in message
oups.com...
I just changed my gear oil in my alpha drive and when I went inside the
boat to to off the resivoir, I noticed some gear oil in the bilge. Any
ideas where the oil is coming from? i already checked the hoses from
the resivoir tank and thay are fine.

Was the reservoir bottle full and overflowing? The vent hole in the transom
housing is above the driveshaft so you would have to have a lot of gear oil
inside the bellow before it would leak thru the vent. I suppose a really bad
seal leak could cause you to fill the bellow while changing the gear lube.
Bottom line is if the bottom of the reservoir is dry and the hose is dry end
to end, you need to pull the drive and check that seal and yoke. You will
need 1 special tool and a couple of torque wrenches to replace the seal. If
you need to change the yoke you will also need 2 shim tools.


"Jeff" wrote in message
oups.com...
I just changed my gear oil in my alpha drive and when I went inside the
boat to to off the resivoir, I noticed some gear oil in the bilge. Any
ideas where the oil is coming from? i already checked the hoses from
the resivoir tank and thay are fine.

I am a mechanically inclined do-it-yourselfer, but hired a local
professional to do it, as I do not have enough confidence / experience, or
possibly any special tools that might be required to do it. The outdrive
is a critical and expensive part that requires the boat to be pulled out in
the event there is a problem, so I like the comfort of having someone
trained to do it. In the end it cost me between $200 and $300 Cdn to have
it tested, diagnosed (visible score on part the upper seal mates with), and
repaired. I delivered the outdive to him, and he also replaced the yoke
and both U-joints for that cost. He pressure tested it after and I
replaced the outdrive oil (which I already had).

Mark
The Rail, Canopy, & LifeLine (accessory) Hook guy
www.ripnet.com/vtf/prod03.htm

"Jeff" wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks---I have had the drive off before, is the seal something a do it
yourselfer can do? Special tools needed?

I have not had the drive off for a couple of years, as no odd noise has
come from the unit and the universal is not greaseable(perm. sealed).
The resevoir has dropped slightly each season and I topped it off. I am
guessing that this problem may be several season's old and is now
showing up after the bellows has filled to the leak point.

On 8 May 2006 08:54:13 -0700, "Jeff" wrote:

I have not had the drive off for a couple of years, as no odd noise has
come from the unit and the universal is not greaseable(perm. sealed).
The resevoir has dropped slightly each season and I topped it off. I am
guessing that this problem may be several season's old and is now
showing up after the bellows has filled to the leak point.

Last summer I noticed that after several hours of use my oil tank had
dropped below the "fill" mark. I refilled it and a few hours later it
was low again. I too noticed oil in the bilge. After fearing the
worst, I took off the tank and found it had a little pinhole where it
appears to have rubbed on the steel frame that holds it. I sealed the
tank and have not had significant usage since.

Dave Hall

I did the repair on mine and took about an hour once the drive was off. It
does require a special tool which I purchased and used one time. Can sell
the tool for $40 if interested?


"Jeff" wrote in message
oups.com...
I just changed my gear oil in my alpha drive and when I went inside the
boat to to off the resivoir, I noticed some gear oil in the bilge. Any
ideas where the oil is coming from? i already checked the hoses from
the resivoir tank and thay are fine.