"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
. ..
Thanks for all of the great info. I'm still greatly dissapointed.
As many of you recall, this 2005 Bayliner 175 is my first
real boat (that I bought brand new jast June), and now I
got this gear oil consumption problem. I've recently called
the dealer about it too. Did some more tests, and find that
it uses about 2 Oz of oil for every 1-hour of running.

So, the question is, where is the most probable place
for the leak? Prop seal, driveshaft seal, or water pump?

And what could of done this? dealer dude (on phone)
doesn't seem to think that engine alignment would do it.
Would running it at excessive speed do it? Not too
long ago, I was running it at WOT for really long
periods of time - could that have done it?

I've only had the thing out 4 times this year since
winter - could something have happened over
winter? (Seattle area). I did scrape the fin on
drive way, but I consider that pretty minor.

How rare is it to develop gear lube consumption
problems on a 1-year old Alpha-1 I wonder?

And are replacing seals somehting that I can do?
(very mechaincally inclined). Issue is that dealer
says they won't be able to get me in till late Aug.
I was thinking that if its a prop seal, that maybe
I can just replace it. Also, whats involved with
changing the oil seal on the upper half? and the
shift lever? So what, 4 places the lube can leak
from, right? prop deal, upper drive shaft seal,
shift lever, and water pump area?

Thanks!

Momentary spurts of wide open throttle are ok once in a great while. Long
periods of WOT running is abusive. If it weren't for the protection of your
gear lube resevoir, your stern drive would probably be trash by now.

In order to find your leak, you need to remove the stern drive and split it.
Remove the prop and water pump upper body. Plug the small holes that
transfer oil between halves, and do a pressure test. You will see the leak.
If it's the water pump base seals that are bad you won't need any special
tools. Otherwise start reaching in your pocket for those crisp hundreds. If
you're a decent mechanic, you can sit down with a genuine OEM manual and
teach yourself how to repair or rebuild a stern drive.

While the drive is split, it would be foolish not to replace the upper water
pump body kit.

If you are the fellow that was having the thermostat stuck with sand, that
might be part of your problem. The grit gets imbedded in the neoprene seals
and wears away at the stainless steel shafts. Pretty impressive the first
time you see it.

Let us know what you find.

Good luck Dude,
Jim

"long periods of WOT" is defined as 5-10 minutes max.

No, it wasn't me with thermostat problems. Boat is
1-year old, with less than 50 hours on it, so I'm
assuming that any major work is covered under
warranty, so I'm sure I'm ready to tear into it.

Also, right after I made that post lastnight, I went
back outside with a flashlight after spending a bunch
more time googling stuff. I *DID* find something
that is suspicious. I found what felt like a thin film
of oil.lube on the back edge of the cavitation plate
on the starboard side (on the lower unit) There is
a small weep hole towards the rear just above the
plate that is about 3/16 - 1/4", and on the startboard
side hole, I can look in and see what appears to be
something that is "wet" with oil. So I'm thinking that
is is where my oil is leaking - out that weep hole.

Does anyone know what these weep holes are for?
And is the shift shaft directly behind the starboard
hole? (appears to be some sort of verticle rod
behind that hole). Is it possible that my "shift shaft
seal" is leaking? - I did find one post about a common
prpblem with the A;pha-I gen II and shift-shaft seal,
and that there might be a bushing retrofit? - Anyone
know anything about this ?

Thanks!




"Jim" wrote in message
ink.net...

"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
. ..
Thanks for all of the great info. I'm still greatly dissapointed.
As many of you recall, this 2005 Bayliner 175 is my first
real boat (that I bought brand new jast June), and now I
got this gear oil consumption problem. I've recently called
the dealer about it too. Did some more tests, and find that
it uses about 2 Oz of oil for every 1-hour of running.

So, the question is, where is the most probable place
for the leak? Prop seal, driveshaft seal, or water pump?

And what could of done this? dealer dude (on phone)
doesn't seem to think that engine alignment would do it.
Would running it at excessive speed do it? Not too
long ago, I was running it at WOT for really long
periods of time - could that have done it?

I've only had the thing out 4 times this year since
winter - could something have happened over
winter? (Seattle area). I did scrape the fin on
drive way, but I consider that pretty minor.

How rare is it to develop gear lube consumption
problems on a 1-year old Alpha-1 I wonder?

And are replacing seals somehting that I can do?
(very mechaincally inclined). Issue is that dealer
says they won't be able to get me in till late Aug.
I was thinking that if its a prop seal, that maybe
I can just replace it. Also, whats involved with
changing the oil seal on the upper half? and the
shift lever? So what, 4 places the lube can leak
from, right? prop deal, upper drive shaft seal,
shift lever, and water pump area?

Thanks!

Momentary spurts of wide open throttle are ok once in a great while. Long
periods of WOT running is abusive. If it weren't for the protection of
your
gear lube resevoir, your stern drive would probably be trash by now.

In order to find your leak, you need to remove the stern drive and split
it.
Remove the prop and water pump upper body. Plug the small holes that
transfer oil between halves, and do a pressure test. You will see the
leak.
If it's the water pump base seals that are bad you won't need any special
tools. Otherwise start reaching in your pocket for those crisp hundreds.
If
you're a decent mechanic, you can sit down with a genuine OEM manual and
teach yourself how to repair or rebuild a stern drive.

While the drive is split, it would be foolish not to replace the upper
water
pump body kit.

If you are the fellow that was having the thermostat stuck with sand, that
might be part of your problem. The grit gets imbedded in the neoprene
seals
and wears away at the stainless steel shafts. Pretty impressive the first
time you see it.

Let us know what you find.

Good luck Dude,
Jim

"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
. ..


so I'm sure I'm ready to tear into it.

Correction: ' so I'm -NOT- sure I'm ready to tear....'

That is a drain hole for the cavity that is in front of the water pump and
shift shaft. Any leak in the area could drain to the hole you speak of.

If you have warranty you shouldn't touch anything for fear of giving them an
excuse to void it.

Jim

"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
. ..
"long periods of WOT" is defined as 5-10 minutes max.

No, it wasn't me with thermostat problems. Boat is
1-year old, with less than 50 hours on it, so I'm
assuming that any major work is covered under
warranty, so I'm sure I'm ready to tear into it.

Also, right after I made that post lastnight, I went
back outside with a flashlight after spending a bunch
more time googling stuff. I *DID* find something
that is suspicious. I found what felt like a thin film
of oil.lube on the back edge of the cavitation plate
on the starboard side (on the lower unit) There is
a small weep hole towards the rear just above the
plate that is about 3/16 - 1/4", and on the startboard
side hole, I can look in and see what appears to be
something that is "wet" with oil. So I'm thinking that
is is where my oil is leaking - out that weep hole.

Does anyone know what these weep holes are for?
And is the shift shaft directly behind the starboard
hole? (appears to be some sort of verticle rod
behind that hole). Is it possible that my "shift shaft
seal" is leaking? - I did find one post about a common
prpblem with the A;pha-I gen II and shift-shaft seal,
and that there might be a bushing retrofit? - Anyone
know anything about this ?

Thanks!




"Jim" wrote in message
ink.net...

"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
. ..
Thanks for all of the great info. I'm still greatly dissapointed.
As many of you recall, this 2005 Bayliner 175 is my first
real boat (that I bought brand new jast June), and now I
got this gear oil consumption problem. I've recently called
the dealer about it too. Did some more tests, and find that
it uses about 2 Oz of oil for every 1-hour of running.

So, the question is, where is the most probable place
for the leak? Prop seal, driveshaft seal, or water pump?

And what could of done this? dealer dude (on phone)
doesn't seem to think that engine alignment would do it.
Would running it at excessive speed do it? Not too
long ago, I was running it at WOT for really long
periods of time - could that have done it?

I've only had the thing out 4 times this year since
winter - could something have happened over
winter? (Seattle area). I did scrape the fin on
drive way, but I consider that pretty minor.

How rare is it to develop gear lube consumption
problems on a 1-year old Alpha-1 I wonder?

And are replacing seals somehting that I can do?
(very mechaincally inclined). Issue is that dealer
says they won't be able to get me in till late Aug.
I was thinking that if its a prop seal, that maybe
I can just replace it. Also, whats involved with
changing the oil seal on the upper half? and the
shift lever? So what, 4 places the lube can leak
from, right? prop deal, upper drive shaft seal,
shift lever, and water pump area?

Thanks!

Momentary spurts of wide open throttle are ok once in a great while. Long
periods of WOT running is abusive. If it weren't for the protection of
your
gear lube resevoir, your stern drive would probably be trash by now.

In order to find your leak, you need to remove the stern drive and split
it.
Remove the prop and water pump upper body. Plug the small holes that
transfer oil between halves, and do a pressure test. You will see the
leak.
If it's the water pump base seals that are bad you won't need any
special
tools. Otherwise start reaching in your pocket for those crisp hundreds.
If
you're a decent mechanic, you can sit down with a genuine OEM manual and
teach yourself how to repair or rebuild a stern drive.

While the drive is split, it would be foolish not to replace the upper
water
pump body kit.

If you are the fellow that was having the thermostat stuck with sand,
that
might be part of your problem. The grit gets imbedded in the neoprene
seals
and wears away at the stainless steel shafts. Pretty impressive the first
time you see it.

Let us know what you find.

Good luck Dude,
Jim

"Jim" wrote in message
ink.net...
That is a drain hole for the cavity that is in front of the water pump and
shift shaft. Any leak in the area could drain to the hole you speak of.

If you have warranty you shouldn't touch anything for fear of giving them
an
excuse to void it.


Yup - also think I'm getting the picture here too...
Correct me if my thinking is off here. Shift-shaft
is on the starboard side, and water pump on port.
Since port side is bone dry, and s.b. side a tad wet,
I suspect shift-shaft bushing seal. Also, (finally)
understand the shift shaft bushing thing now. So
I been seeing pics of the ss "bushing", and tools
to screw in/out the bushing, but failed to under-
stand how a hard plastic collar bushing could be
a seal. Finally found a web page that explains it.
Its a hard plastic threaded bushing with slots on
the top (to screw it in/out), BUT, its got n O-ring
down inside of it. Somewhat common for the O-
ring to pop out, or walk itself out of hte center of
the bushing, and just float around the shaft on the
top of the bushing. So..... Got an appointment
for Aug 16th (2-weeks from now), so we'll go
from there. Question is, is it bad enough to have
to stop using it for the next 2 weeks - thats what
I have to evaluate now. Fear being getting water
in the drive. Also, had another dealer tell me on
the phone that the shift-shaft seal also acts as a
pressure relief valve. (?) Don't understand that
as all! - if so, pressure would pop the O-ring out
of the hard plastic shift-shaft bushing, but that
action would be permanent, right? How could
an O-ring act as pressure relief and remain in tact?
(guess I'd just have to see it all apart on the bench)




Jim

"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
. ..
"long periods of WOT" is defined as 5-10 minutes max.

No, it wasn't me with thermostat problems. Boat is
1-year old, with less than 50 hours on it, so I'm
assuming that any major work is covered under
warranty, so I'm sure I'm ready to tear into it.

Also, right after I made that post lastnight, I went
back outside with a flashlight after spending a bunch
more time googling stuff. I *DID* find something
that is suspicious. I found what felt like a thin film
of oil.lube on the back edge of the cavitation plate
on the starboard side (on the lower unit) There is
a small weep hole towards the rear just above the
plate that is about 3/16 - 1/4", and on the startboard
side hole, I can look in and see what appears to be
something that is "wet" with oil. So I'm thinking that
is is where my oil is leaking - out that weep hole.

Does anyone know what these weep holes are for?
And is the shift shaft directly behind the starboard
hole? (appears to be some sort of verticle rod
behind that hole). Is it possible that my "shift shaft
seal" is leaking? - I did find one post about a common
prpblem with the A;pha-I gen II and shift-shaft seal,
and that there might be a bushing retrofit? - Anyone
know anything about this ?

Thanks!




"Jim" wrote in message
ink.net...

"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
. ..
Thanks for all of the great info. I'm still greatly dissapointed.
As many of you recall, this 2005 Bayliner 175 is my first
real boat (that I bought brand new jast June), and now I
got this gear oil consumption problem. I've recently called
the dealer about it too. Did some more tests, and find that
it uses about 2 Oz of oil for every 1-hour of running.

So, the question is, where is the most probable place
for the leak? Prop seal, driveshaft seal, or water pump?

And what could of done this? dealer dude (on phone)
doesn't seem to think that engine alignment would do it.
Would running it at excessive speed do it? Not too
long ago, I was running it at WOT for really long
periods of time - could that have done it?

I've only had the thing out 4 times this year since
winter - could something have happened over
winter? (Seattle area). I did scrape the fin on
drive way, but I consider that pretty minor.

How rare is it to develop gear lube consumption
problems on a 1-year old Alpha-1 I wonder?

And are replacing seals somehting that I can do?
(very mechaincally inclined). Issue is that dealer
says they won't be able to get me in till late Aug.
I was thinking that if its a prop seal, that maybe
I can just replace it. Also, whats involved with
changing the oil seal on the upper half? and the
shift lever? So what, 4 places the lube can leak
from, right? prop deal, upper drive shaft seal,
shift lever, and water pump area?

Thanks!

Momentary spurts of wide open throttle are ok once in a great while.
Long
periods of WOT running is abusive. If it weren't for the protection of
your
gear lube resevoir, your stern drive would probably be trash by now.

In order to find your leak, you need to remove the stern drive and
split
it.
Remove the prop and water pump upper body. Plug the small holes that
transfer oil between halves, and do a pressure test. You will see the
leak.
If it's the water pump base seals that are bad you won't need any
special
tools. Otherwise start reaching in your pocket for those crisp
hundreds.
If
you're a decent mechanic, you can sit down with a genuine OEM manual
and
teach yourself how to repair or rebuild a stern drive.

While the drive is split, it would be foolish not to replace the upper
water
pump body kit.

If you are the fellow that was having the thermostat stuck with sand,
that
might be part of your problem. The grit gets imbedded in the neoprene
seals
and wears away at the stainless steel shafts. Pretty impressive the
first
time you see it.

Let us know what you find.

Good luck Dude,
Jim

The bushing assembly( used to be metal) has a groove the oring fits into. It
would be pretty difficult to unseat this oring. The oring seals the bushing
assembly to the gear housing. in the middle of the bushing are pressed 1 or
2 seals (I forget). The shift shaft is sealed by these seals. the shift
shaft rotates about 45 degrees. The shift shaft is in front of the water
pump and in back of the cavity I spoke of. There is only 1 drain hole for
the cavity. There is no pressure relief issue since the gear lube is able to
expand and contract and fill and empty the reservoir just like the expansion
tank for your car cooling system.

"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...
Yup - also think I'm getting the picture here too...
Correct me if my thinking is off here. Shift-shaft
is on the starboard side, and water pump on port.
Since port side is bone dry, and s.b. side a tad wet,
I suspect shift-shaft bushing seal. Also, (finally)
understand the shift shaft bushing thing now. So
I been seeing pics of the ss "bushing", and tools
to screw in/out the bushing, but failed to under-
stand how a hard plastic collar bushing could be
a seal. Finally found a web page that explains it.
Its a hard plastic threaded bushing with slots on
the top (to screw it in/out), BUT, its got n O-ring
down inside of it. Somewhat common for the O-
ring to pop out, or walk itself out of hte center of
the bushing, and just float around the shaft on the
top of the bushing. So..... Got an appointment
for Aug 16th (2-weeks from now), so we'll go
from there. Question is, is it bad enough to have
to stop using it for the next 2 weeks - thats what
I have to evaluate now. Fear being getting water
in the drive. Also, had another dealer tell me on
the phone that the shift-shaft seal also acts as a
pressure relief valve. (?) Don't understand that
as all! - if so, pressure would pop the O-ring out
of the hard plastic shift-shaft bushing, but that
action would be permanent, right? How could
an O-ring act as pressure relief and remain in tact?
(guess I'd just have to see it all apart on the bench)




Jim

"Jim" wrote in message
ink.net...
The bushing assembly( used to be metal) has a groove the oring fits into.
It
would be pretty difficult to unseat this oring. The oring seals the
bushing
assembly to the gear housing. in the middle of the bushing are pressed 1
or
2 seals (I forget). The shift shaft is sealed by these seals. the shift
shaft rotates about 45 degrees. The shift shaft is in front of the water
pump and in back of the cavity I spoke of. There is only 1 drain hole for
the cavity. There is no pressure relief issue since the gear lube is able
to
expand and contract and fill and empty the reservoir just like the
expansion
tank for your car cooling system.

Cool - yeah, I was reading about the shaft positions - 10:00 Rev,
11:00 neutral, and 12:00 forward. Ok, cool, so the bushing itself
has little seals preseed in seals. Geeze, with only an occassional
45 degrees movement, don't see why it would be so common for
the shift shaft seals to leak. Maybe thats just it - the shaft never
moves 360 degrees, so maybe it never gets proper wiping and
seating on seal lip or somehting? who knows. Also, on mine,
(2005 Alpha-1 Gen II), there really are 2 drain holes, one on
each side of the lower unit towards the rear. And so yeah, I
agree about the venting (up into the gear lube monitor) so I don't
know why the Olympic boat center service department dude
told me on the phone that the shift shaft seal also acts as a
pressure relief. Also read where some people say there is a check
valve in line with the tank and the drive, and other say no. But
there really -can't- be a check valve since the refill procedure
says to pump the gear lube "up" from the lower unit until it
fills the gear lube monitor - somehting you wouldn't be able to
do if there were a chack valve in line. Anyways... So what is
your experience with the newer Alpha-1's (gen 2) drives ?
How likely is it that my shift shaft seal is what is leaking?
How involved is dropping the lower unit to have a peek?
Or should I say, how involved is re-assembling it correctly?
I assume that you can do this with the outdrive on the boat?
Probably just wait for y service appointment in 2 weeks,
but just curious (roll-away chock full of tools on a cloudly
Saturday, and its killing me that I can't dive in). Course, no
"special" Mercruiser tools in the tool boxes anyhow. Got all
the Ford 4x4 differential tools, - do they count? (Ok, joking)






"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...
Yup - also think I'm getting the picture here too...
Correct me if my thinking is off here. Shift-shaft
is on the starboard side, and water pump on port.
Since port side is bone dry, and s.b. side a tad wet,
I suspect shift-shaft bushing seal. Also, (finally)
understand the shift shaft bushing thing now. So
I been seeing pics of the ss "bushing", and tools
to screw in/out the bushing, but failed to under-
stand how a hard plastic collar bushing could be
a seal. Finally found a web page that explains it.
Its a hard plastic threaded bushing with slots on
the top (to screw it in/out), BUT, its got n O-ring
down inside of it. Somewhat common for the O-
ring to pop out, or walk itself out of hte center of
the bushing, and just float around the shaft on the
top of the bushing. So..... Got an appointment
for Aug 16th (2-weeks from now), so we'll go
from there. Question is, is it bad enough to have
to stop using it for the next 2 weeks - thats what
I have to evaluate now. Fear being getting water
in the drive. Also, had another dealer tell me on
the phone that the shift-shaft seal also acts as a
pressure relief valve. (?) Don't understand that
as all! - if so, pressure would pop the O-ring out
of the hard plastic shift-shaft bushing, but that
action would be permanent, right? How could
an O-ring act as pressure relief and remain in tact?
(guess I'd just have to see it all apart on the bench)




Jim

Don't get hung up on the shift shaft seal. Nothing should have failed at the
1 year mark, so I couldn't even speculate as to what your problem is.

"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
. ..

"Jim" wrote in message
ink.net...
The bushing assembly( used to be metal) has a groove the oring fits into.
It
would be pretty difficult to unseat this oring. The oring seals the
bushing
assembly to the gear housing. in the middle of the bushing are pressed 1
or
2 seals (I forget). The shift shaft is sealed by these seals. the shift
shaft rotates about 45 degrees. The shift shaft is in front of the water
pump and in back of the cavity I spoke of. There is only 1 drain hole for
the cavity. There is no pressure relief issue since the gear lube is able
to
expand and contract and fill and empty the reservoir just like the
expansion
tank for your car cooling system.

Cool - yeah, I was reading about the shaft positions - 10:00 Rev,
11:00 neutral, and 12:00 forward. Ok, cool, so the bushing itself
has little seals preseed in seals. Geeze, with only an occassional
45 degrees movement, don't see why it would be so common for
the shift shaft seals to leak. Maybe thats just it - the shaft never
moves 360 degrees, so maybe it never gets proper wiping and
seating on seal lip or somehting? who knows. Also, on mine,
(2005 Alpha-1 Gen II), there really are 2 drain holes, one on
each side of the lower unit towards the rear. And so yeah, I
agree about the venting (up into the gear lube monitor) so I don't
know why the Olympic boat center service department dude
told me on the phone that the shift shaft seal also acts as a
pressure relief. Also read where some people say there is a check
valve in line with the tank and the drive, and other say no. But
there really -can't- be a check valve since the refill procedure
says to pump the gear lube "up" from the lower unit until it
fills the gear lube monitor - somehting you wouldn't be able to
do if there were a chack valve in line. Anyways... So what is
your experience with the newer Alpha-1's (gen 2) drives ?
How likely is it that my shift shaft seal is what is leaking?
How involved is dropping the lower unit to have a peek?
Or should I say, how involved is re-assembling it correctly?
I assume that you can do this with the outdrive on the boat?
Probably just wait for y service appointment in 2 weeks,
but just curious (roll-away chock full of tools on a cloudly
Saturday, and its killing me that I can't dive in). Course, no
"special" Mercruiser tools in the tool boxes anyhow. Got all
the Ford 4x4 differential tools, - do they count? (Ok, joking)






"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...
Yup - also think I'm getting the picture here too...
Correct me if my thinking is off here. Shift-shaft
is on the starboard side, and water pump on port.
Since port side is bone dry, and s.b. side a tad wet,
I suspect shift-shaft bushing seal. Also, (finally)
understand the shift shaft bushing thing now. So
I been seeing pics of the ss "bushing", and tools
to screw in/out the bushing, but failed to under-
stand how a hard plastic collar bushing could be
a seal. Finally found a web page that explains it.
Its a hard plastic threaded bushing with slots on
the top (to screw it in/out), BUT, its got n O-ring
down inside of it. Somewhat common for the O-
ring to pop out, or walk itself out of hte center of
the bushing, and just float around the shaft on the
top of the bushing. So..... Got an appointment
for Aug 16th (2-weeks from now), so we'll go
from there. Question is, is it bad enough to have
to stop using it for the next 2 weeks - thats what
I have to evaluate now. Fear being getting water
in the drive. Also, had another dealer tell me on
the phone that the shift-shaft seal also acts as a
pressure relief valve. (?) Don't understand that
as all! - if so, pressure would pop the O-ring out
of the hard plastic shift-shaft bushing, but that
action would be permanent, right? How could
an O-ring act as pressure relief and remain in tact?
(guess I'd just have to see it all apart on the bench)




Jim

"Jim" wrote in message
ink.net...
Don't get hung up on the shift shaft seal. Nothing should have failed at
the
1 year mark, so I couldn't even speculate as to what your problem is.

Cool, Ok... Just have to wait for 2 weeks till I get in to the shop.
Nother quick question - would excessive water pressure from a
set of ear muffs do it ? I usually only open the faucet 1/2 way,
but I do have pretty high water pressure.


"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
. ..

"Jim" wrote in message
ink.net...
The bushing assembly( used to be metal) has a groove the oring fits
into.
It
would be pretty difficult to unseat this oring. The oring seals the
bushing
assembly to the gear housing. in the middle of the bushing are pressed
1
or
2 seals (I forget). The shift shaft is sealed by these seals. the shift
shaft rotates about 45 degrees. The shift shaft is in front of the
water
pump and in back of the cavity I spoke of. There is only 1 drain hole
for
the cavity. There is no pressure relief issue since the gear lube is
able
to
expand and contract and fill and empty the reservoir just like the
expansion
tank for your car cooling system.

Cool - yeah, I was reading about the shaft positions - 10:00 Rev,
11:00 neutral, and 12:00 forward. Ok, cool, so the bushing itself
has little seals preseed in seals. Geeze, with only an occassional
45 degrees movement, don't see why it would be so common for
the shift shaft seals to leak. Maybe thats just it - the shaft never
moves 360 degrees, so maybe it never gets proper wiping and
seating on seal lip or somehting? who knows. Also, on mine,
(2005 Alpha-1 Gen II), there really are 2 drain holes, one on
each side of the lower unit towards the rear. And so yeah, I
agree about the venting (up into the gear lube monitor) so I don't
know why the Olympic boat center service department dude
told me on the phone that the shift shaft seal also acts as a
pressure relief. Also read where some people say there is a check
valve in line with the tank and the drive, and other say no. But
there really -can't- be a check valve since the refill procedure
says to pump the gear lube "up" from the lower unit until it
fills the gear lube monitor - somehting you wouldn't be able to
do if there were a chack valve in line. Anyways... So what is
your experience with the newer Alpha-1's (gen 2) drives ?
How likely is it that my shift shaft seal is what is leaking?
How involved is dropping the lower unit to have a peek?
Or should I say, how involved is re-assembling it correctly?
I assume that you can do this with the outdrive on the boat?
Probably just wait for y service appointment in 2 weeks,
but just curious (roll-away chock full of tools on a cloudly
Saturday, and its killing me that I can't dive in). Course, no
"special" Mercruiser tools in the tool boxes anyhow. Got all
the Ford 4x4 differential tools, - do they count? (Ok, joking)






"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...
Yup - also think I'm getting the picture here too...
Correct me if my thinking is off here. Shift-shaft
is on the starboard side, and water pump on port.
Since port side is bone dry, and s.b. side a tad wet,
I suspect shift-shaft bushing seal. Also, (finally)
understand the shift shaft bushing thing now. So
I been seeing pics of the ss "bushing", and tools
to screw in/out the bushing, but failed to under-
stand how a hard plastic collar bushing could be
a seal. Finally found a web page that explains it.
Its a hard plastic threaded bushing with slots on
the top (to screw it in/out), BUT, its got n O-ring
down inside of it. Somewhat common for the O-
ring to pop out, or walk itself out of hte center of
the bushing, and just float around the shaft on the
top of the bushing. So..... Got an appointment
for Aug 16th (2-weeks from now), so we'll go
from there. Question is, is it bad enough to have
to stop using it for the next 2 weeks - thats what
I have to evaluate now. Fear being getting water
in the drive. Also, had another dealer tell me on
the phone that the shift-shaft seal also acts as a
pressure relief valve. (?) Don't understand that
as all! - if so, pressure would pop the O-ring out
of the hard plastic shift-shaft bushing, but that
action would be permanent, right? How could
an O-ring act as pressure relief and remain in tact?
(guess I'd just have to see it all apart on the bench)




Jim

no
"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
. ..

"Jim" wrote in message
ink.net...
Don't get hung up on the shift shaft seal. Nothing should have failed at
the
1 year mark, so I couldn't even speculate as to what your problem is.

Cool, Ok... Just have to wait for 2 weeks till I get in to the shop.
Nother quick question - would excessive water pressure from a
set of ear muffs do it ? I usually only open the faucet 1/2 way,
but I do have pretty high water pressure.


"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
. ..

"Jim" wrote in message
ink.net...
The bushing assembly( used to be metal) has a groove the oring fits
into.
It
would be pretty difficult to unseat this oring. The oring seals the
bushing
assembly to the gear housing. in the middle of the bushing are pressed
1
or
2 seals (I forget). The shift shaft is sealed by these seals. the
shift
shaft rotates about 45 degrees. The shift shaft is in front of the
water
pump and in back of the cavity I spoke of. There is only 1 drain hole
for
the cavity. There is no pressure relief issue since the gear lube is
able
to
expand and contract and fill and empty the reservoir just like the
expansion
tank for your car cooling system.

Cool - yeah, I was reading about the shaft positions - 10:00 Rev,
11:00 neutral, and 12:00 forward. Ok, cool, so the bushing itself
has little seals preseed in seals. Geeze, with only an occassional
45 degrees movement, don't see why it would be so common for
the shift shaft seals to leak. Maybe thats just it - the shaft never
moves 360 degrees, so maybe it never gets proper wiping and
seating on seal lip or somehting? who knows. Also, on mine,
(2005 Alpha-1 Gen II), there really are 2 drain holes, one on
each side of the lower unit towards the rear. And so yeah, I
agree about the venting (up into the gear lube monitor) so I don't
know why the Olympic boat center service department dude
told me on the phone that the shift shaft seal also acts as a
pressure relief. Also read where some people say there is a check
valve in line with the tank and the drive, and other say no. But
there really -can't- be a check valve since the refill procedure
says to pump the gear lube "up" from the lower unit until it
fills the gear lube monitor - somehting you wouldn't be able to
do if there were a chack valve in line. Anyways... So what is
your experience with the newer Alpha-1's (gen 2) drives ?
How likely is it that my shift shaft seal is what is leaking?
How involved is dropping the lower unit to have a peek?
Or should I say, how involved is re-assembling it correctly?
I assume that you can do this with the outdrive on the boat?
Probably just wait for y service appointment in 2 weeks,
but just curious (roll-away chock full of tools on a cloudly
Saturday, and its killing me that I can't dive in). Course, no
"special" Mercruiser tools in the tool boxes anyhow. Got all
the Ford 4x4 differential tools, - do they count? (Ok, joking)






"Mr Wizzard" wrote in message
...
Yup - also think I'm getting the picture here too...
Correct me if my thinking is off here. Shift-shaft
is on the starboard side, and water pump on port.
Since port side is bone dry, and s.b. side a tad wet,
I suspect shift-shaft bushing seal. Also, (finally)
understand the shift shaft bushing thing now. So
I been seeing pics of the ss "bushing", and tools
to screw in/out the bushing, but failed to under-
stand how a hard plastic collar bushing could be
a seal. Finally found a web page that explains it.
Its a hard plastic threaded bushing with slots on
the top (to screw it in/out), BUT, its got n O-ring
down inside of it. Somewhat common for the O-
ring to pop out, or walk itself out of hte center of
the bushing, and just float around the shaft on the
top of the bushing. So..... Got an appointment
for Aug 16th (2-weeks from now), so we'll go
from there. Question is, is it bad enough to have
to stop using it for the next 2 weeks - thats what
I have to evaluate now. Fear being getting water
in the drive. Also, had another dealer tell me on
the phone that the shift-shaft seal also acts as a
pressure relief valve. (?) Don't understand that
as all! - if so, pressure would pop the O-ring out
of the hard plastic shift-shaft bushing, but that
action would be permanent, right? How could
an O-ring act as pressure relief and remain in tact?
(guess I'd just have to see it all apart on the bench)




Jim