Lower Unit Screws

I have a Force 150 1990,  When I first bought the boat I changed the whole pump asembly. On my motor the oil does not have to be drained as lond as you keep motor verticle.  Bill Mc  ;D

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Bill,

The lower unit had a new outside seal installed in march of this year, was pressure tested, and had new oil put in it. At least that is what I paid for. I didnt see what kind of oil was put in it. I tried to call you at home -no answer.
 
Well, with any luck, it is just the screw gaskets that caused some minor leakage. Sounds like no real damage done. I would do as suggested; Install new screws with gaskets (washers), fresh lower unit oil, then keep an eye on it. Should be nothing to worry about. ;)
 
have you gotten them out yet? i have used a hand held impact tol that you turn with pressure like your unscrewing and hit it with a hammer.
Can take a healthy screw driver and hit it with a hammer to try the same thing. No need to buy lower unit oil. Gear Oil is the exact same thing. Buy 80 weight gear oil at local auto store. Better off to buy Syn. 80 Gear Oil. Much cheaper and same thing as lower unit oil.
 
Hey Lord Skools what color is that stuff. and what color is that sealant your talking about? Did you read the whole post about the stuff that came out being clean no shavings no dirt and almost a solid off white and approx two tablespoons of water tops in unit, Filett says the lower seal was done in march, and lower unit serviced along with impeller. The stuff is like a whitish oil no black at all. Only thing visibly wrong was the lower drain screw was put back without washer, upper had the white washer
 
Willy, take it to a tech who can PRESSURE TEST the lower unit...obviously there's a water intrusion problem of some kind and that'll locate it...then do the seal-kit or whatever it takes from there...talk to the tech about how to get as much of that crud outta there as possible... ;)...

Best to check lower-unit oil when purchasing used OB...my old '86 Rude wasn't as bad as you describe, but WAS in need of changing... ;)...
 
yeah if it had water it has a leak. Or a bad screw seal as stated earlier. Some Lower unit oil is off white or cream gray. Most shops don't use lower unit oil they just buy 80w Gear Oil which comes in tons of colors so without seeing it before it was put in no way of knowing if it was suppose to be that color. Last Gear oil i bought i got Red so i could tell if it got water in it. That sealant is Clear and thin. I had a V-6 resealed and shimmed it cost $250 and i took it off to save the removal fee. They provided the seal kit and the shims.

That sealant did stop a major leak in my Hydro-Brake Booster in my Tahoe. It was leaking out of the Hydro's Cylinder.
 
Willy, sounds like it could possibly not be all water? New washers on those screws, fresh clean lube and check or change the oil again after 10 or 20 hrs of operation to make sure ;)
 
Hey, MJ!!!...from what you said about you and oil-systems the other day, this Seal-Lube is YOUR stuff!!... ;) ;D...I might get a can of that just to have around...in case I spring a leak in one of my several lube systems... ::)...

Willy, if that gearcase holds up to a pressure-test, maybe the techs that did the service used some kinda ''white'' oil...Heck, get Fillet to ask the guys WHAT they used...
 
Thanks Blue and Rap, I'm waiting to hear back from Fillet, he tried calling last night I wasn't home. I ordred that stuff from Lord Skools post this morning, nice guy, emailed me back with some instructions. I went out this morning and looked at that oil(?) and there is about a table spoons worth of water in there. Thats it. Like I said I've seen lower unit oil that had water in it and you would see like swirls of whitish in it. Not the case hear which is why I don't understand. Solid clean off white so maybe Skools hit it on the head. I'm replacing those screws and washers and going to put that sealer in with new oil and check after a couple of days of running thanks all for the advise I'll let you know ;)
 
The reason you don't see much water is that lower unit oil is designed to hold water. It won't seperate out like if you mix oil and water in a jar. Lower unit oil can absorb something along the lines of 25% water and still be effective. Keeps from grenading your lower unit.

Airslot
 
Thanks Airslot did not know that, my other outboards over the years when I would change the oil I could definetly see water and after awhile it would seperate out even more.
 
Willy you'll need to run your lower unit after putting that sealant in it. It should run about 10 min or so better off to run it out of the water on muffs so it's not under water. just put it in gear and let it run in gear for about 10 min that will work it in all the seals. You will find some water after so use no matter what all units will. They get hot then you take it out of the water run the motor on muffs to flush and the temp change cause's condensation.
 
Just an info update for you guys, in case you run into the same type of problem. There is a well respected boat shop near here and I found out the following. Though I still could have a leak if I have had any water in there it is likely coming thru the washerless screw on the unit. Also the consistency I had in the white oil is not consistent with water in it, several marinas and shops at least in NJ use an very inexpensive oil in the lower units called Lubriplate, and it is white to off white in color, and cheap. Lot of places stopped using it because it was hard to tell if water was in it. Also if you get a service done on your lower unit and you are told it was pressure tested that is only half of it, it also has to be vacum tested because there are back to back seals. The third thing is if you have any doubts about what you have in your lower unit you should flush it before filling it again with clean oil because the the old stuff and water will contaminate it and you won't get an accurate picture of what is going on. To flush it you use Mineral Spirits. Put it in and let it sit and then drain it all and let it seep for a couple of hours. Then use clean oil and fill I'm sure some of you guys know these things already but I did'nt and wanted to put it out there
 
been there know it but DO NOT USE Mineral Spirits
it will melt your rubber seals. use new lube and run a couple pumps through it till the oil lube all runs out and begins to be new clean lube.
 
Wow Skools why would the guy tell me that :-X lucky I put it out here first. I will do what you say. Apparently that is what they do in his shop. Unbelievable .
 
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