Changing the Bravo Oil

[BajabossJD]

Hi Guys,

I drained the oil fluid out of my Bravo 1 today. I took the cap off the reservoir, opened the vent screw and let it drain out the drain plug. I was expecting milky oil as the reservoirlooks super milky (only a small amount in the reservoir). .Well, the oil came out and looked ok. It was dark, but I saw no streaks of white...no metal..nothing but 2-3 qts of oil. Is it it possible that the previous owner blocked off the container? It looks like it has lines running back to the drive.

The container is in front of my trim tab unit..on the port side of the engine.

Thanks,

Joe
454 Merc / Bravo 1

 

[cr2k]

Re: Changing the Bravo Oil

If the reservoir drained too it's not blocked off.

 

[emilsr]

Re: Changing the Bravo Oil

You might want to check the reservoir for leaks and replace the cap. That could be where the water came from.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Changing the Bravo Oil

baja, the previous owner probably NEVER drained the reservoir bottle. Merc's gear lube "sludges up" in that bottle if you don't drain it every year. It's a required part of their maintenance schedule. So while he didn't block it off on purpose, it probably was blocked off with sludge. GET THAT BOTTLE CLEAN and make sure the gear lube will flow out of it. You could have had an empty outdrive, and that bottle would have been full, fooling you into thinking you were okay.

 

[Don S]

Re: Changing the Bravo Oil

I agree with TW, you need to remove the reservoir and clean it out with cleaning solvent each time the gear lube is changed (Yearly).
The reservoir can also suffer from condensation over the years.
Once cleaned and refilled, keep an eye on it and check it each trip to see if it get milky again.

 

[BajabossJD]

Re: Changing the Bravo Oil

Hey guys.. Well worked on the boat again today. I have to admit.. I have owned 4 jet boats in the past..from the 14' to a 22'. I/O is very new to me. The bottle for my outdrive is located on the engine near my Mercathode. The milky bottle ended up being the Tilt / trim bottle..which is very very white (with sluge on the bottom). Can I just unhook the trim lines from the drive to drain? I guess the trim system leaking is better than the whole drive unit leaking ($$$ wise). I filled the outdrive with new fluid...made sure it came out the vent hole and closed the system with new gaskets. Now I can't get the propellor to go on all the way.. The spline insert is confusing lol

Thanks for your help guys..

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Changing the Bravo Oil

Yes, you can drain the outdrive pump that way. And I think you can cycle the pump while they are loose to pump out mote of the milky fluid. Your trim cylinders probably need to be rebuilt. Not a big deal, (kits are about $22 each) but a spanner wrench would be real helpful getting the end caps off.