Brown Stern Drive Oil

[Paul863]

I have a 1993 OMC Cobra and have yearly changed the stern drive oil since 1993. As long as I can remember it comes out a dark colored brown and is pretty stinky. This year was no different. However, I have been reading about the milky look to the oil & I think this may be it. The outdrive has alway performed well & it gets used a lot. Do I need to worry about this or is it fairly common. <br />Also, in the past few years I have been using a generic brand of gear oil (80W90) that I get at Autozone. Is there a difference between this and marine grade gear oil?<br /><br />Thanks for your input.

 

[tommays]

Re: Brown Stern Drive Oil

paul<br /><br />the most inportant thing is that what ever oil you use meets the spec that OMC gave when the dive was built there are differences in every brand of oil and allways a sorce of fights here<br /><br /> http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=24;t=006465 <br /><br />tommays

 

[Don S]

Re: Brown Stern Drive Oil

If it's milky, drain the drive and pressure and vacuum test it. That will locate a leak. You will also need to pull the drive in order to check the front seal and check for water in the bellows.<br /><br />

Is there a difference between this and marine grade gear oil?<br />

Use the proper gear lube, it's cheaper than the drive, and there is no question about difference.<br /><br />Sure hope LubeDude and OilDoc don't see this post or we're in for another hundred posts about oils/lubes.