am I freakin' out or.......

[Wotknot]

Hi guys. I've got an '01 Alpha Gen II. Yesterday I was draining the gear oil and noticed it was dribbling out so I stuck an air hose to the gear lube monitor hose and applied "light" pressure. Sure enough it finally spit something out and it drained on out. No water in the oil but it did act as though just a tiny bit had coagulated. But afterwards I noticed 2 holes in the lower half right above the cavitation plate and just below the 2 forward bolts that hold the 2 halves together. I've never noticed them before. So, in applying air did I blow some type of seals? Thanks in advance for any and all replies.

 

[tommays]

Re: am I freakin' out or.......

W<br /><br />if your talking about the holes i think you are one hole should be the speedo pickup and the other is a water drain that lets the drive drain out when its out of the water<br /><br />sometimes when there is a problem in the drive people will see oil come out of the water drain hole <br /><br />the best way to check the drive is to pressure test for leaks <br /><br />to be sure about the upper seal it is nessary to remove the drive which allows you to check the u-joints and bellows condition at the same time<br /><br />tommays

 

[Laddies]

Re: am I freakin' out or.......

oil out of the two holes I think you are talking about would come from the seals under the water pump or the shift shafty seal, they are water drains for that area of the unit as tommays said

 

[Wotknot]

Re: am I freakin' out or.......

The 2 holes I'm referring to are in the casing of the lower half. One on the port side and one on the starboard, each one just above the cavitation plate and just below the nut of the forward bolts that bolt the 2 halves together. They're not the speedo hole, or anything. They just appear to be machined/drilled holes. But I thought that maybe there had been some sort of plug in there before as I had never noticed them before. Oil wasn't coming out of them. Other than the vents to allow water into the impeller, I can see no reason for them being there. Sorry if I wasn't clear on that.

 

[hondon]

Re: am I freakin' out or.......

They are drain holes and have no plugs.

 

[Wotknot]

Re: am I freakin' out or.......

Thanks for your help. Now if someone can explain why these drives tend to build sludge in the lube monitor......which I assume can transfer on down through the tube and into the leg.

 

[tommays]

Re: am I freakin' out or.......

W<br /><br />The sludge is usually the additives dropping out of the oil over time because the tank oil never really moves<br /><br /><br />tommays

 

[Wotknot]

Re: am I freakin' out or.......

Hmmmmmm, that makes sense. I guess it also may make sense to maybe change the lube about halfway thru the summer season too? Thanks for your reply.

 

[Don S]

Re: am I freakin' out or.......

Normally changing the gearlube in the reservoir should be done each time the gear lube in the drive is changed. Usually every 100 hours or once a year. Since most people fall in the yearly catagory, changing and "cleaning" the reservoir as part of winterization works fine.

 

[Wotknot]

Re: am I freakin' out or.......

Yeah Don, I've been doing that each year during winterization. Drain out the old lube, take the monitor off and clean it out spotless and then refill with new lube. I just couldn't understand why each year it would be gunked up on the bottom of the monitor. BTW....You, Bondo, and Tommy among others here are a vernerable source of info, and I for one appreciate all you guys do to share your knowledge with us fledglings.