1988 3.0l mercruiser with alpha outdrive - purchased recently, checked resevoir on tilt trim, fluid is milky white. I assume this is water intrusion? tilt trim works fine. Is this a problem? How do I isolate the cause?<br />Thanks,
I'd like to know this as well. Mine was the same way. It did not appear that any oil was getting out or that water was getting in through the cylinders. Looking at the set up there is a small hole in the reservior cap for a vent. There is no felt or any barrier underneath it so I can see how moisture can get in the fluid that way. I spent $40 on an oring kit for the cylinders but to my estimation there was nothing wrong with them. I never saw any oil going in the water from them and they are not oily on the outside. Mine is a 1990 Bravo 1.
You need to change the oil out of the resevoir. Get a pump and pump out as much as possible the old oil and refill it with 30 weight oil. Then you trim the outdrive up and down a few cycle to circulate the oil and that would replace the old oil that are in the hose. You then change this oil again and replace it with new oil. <br /><br />When I bought my boat it was the same as what you describe. Milky fluid. Moisture can get to the oil through the vent hole over a period of time and it is not good for the hydrolic. I now change the oil on a yearly basis when I take the boat out of winterization.
http://www.boatfix.com/merc/Servmanl/6/6covr3.pdf <br /><br />manual 6 covers the 1998 trim system<br /><br /><br />i had gotten mine milky last year and the only bad part i found was one of the swags on the trim hose fitting had gotten a crack<br /><br />on the other hand it rained like heck that week i could have easly gotten it through the vent<br /><br /><br />i dont think its good and took mine apart and cleaned everything and have used the boat in dry weather with out more water getting in<br /><br />i think the trim cylinders draw water in more often than they do leak oil OUT makeing it hard to find the source<br /><br />tommays
Thanks for the suggestions - what kind of pump do you use? Hand or power? Where can I buy one and will it double for the pump needed to change oil?<br />Thanks again.
You could use the same pump that you would for oil changes. If you want unbolt the trim pump and take the resevoir off and drain it that way. That is what I did and when I put it all back together, I put a baggy with a rubber band around the cap. It can still vent out and I haven't had any water back in it.
Any hand of power oil pump unit will do. I use a hand pump with a smaller hose at the suction end so that it is flexible and and move around the bottom of the resevoir.
Thanks for all the help/suggestions. I had talked with the local boat repair facility and they wanted $75.00 to "flush" the trin unit.<br />I appreciate your help - Thank You
I have had the same issue. I have changed the oil three times and it is still getting water. I think it is in the connections that go through the hull of the boat on my model and out to the connector which splits them to the outside trim hoses.<br /><br />I have to drop the outside connection on the stern to get at the hoses, but I do not know what else to do.<br /><br />Mine all started with water inside the boat.
