Leaking Gear Lube Hose on 1999 Mercruiser Sterndrive

[lou23]

I noticed gear lube leaking at hose from transom to outdrive. I'm suspecting the line is cracked from age, dry rotted, as the boat is old. Did some research and it looks like I might be able to replace it without removing the drive unit. That is assuming the fitting is not cracked. Looks like the fitting is probably plastic. Hoping to be able to slice the line to free it from the fitting and hopefully not damage any fittings. Looks like they make a brass fitting as well. I was considering buying a new valve just in case so I can tackle this all in one shot. The boat is about 150 miles from home. Any advantage to getting brass? Easier to install or just less likely to break? Any help or suggestions appreciated. Thanks.

 

[dubs283]

as far as i know the brass one is nla, at least from mercury. you definitely want to cut the line in half before you attempt to remove the line from the through transom fitting.

carefully slice the line where it attaches to the plastic barbed fitting ensuring you do not damage the barb. the fitting is very brittle and prone to breaking with the least amount of force

i cannot stress enough the importance of NOT breaking the fitting, most people are not cut out for the patience required to properly install a new fitting

 

[lou23]

as far as i know the brass one is nla, at least from mercury. you definitely want to cut the line in half before you attempt to remove the line from the through transom fitting.

carefully slice the line where it attaches to the plastic barbed fitting ensuring you do not damage the barb. the fitting is very brittle and prone to breaking with the least amount of force

i cannot stress enough the importance of NOT breaking the fitting, most people are not cut out for the patience required to properly install a new fitting

Thanks for the reply. The boat is a 1999 Prinecraft Vacanza with a 4.3L. I did not look in the bilge to see how difficult it might be to access the fitting. The leak is very minor but I can't see letting it go. Just afraid that even if I can slice and peel the hose off the fitting it might break trying to push the new line on. A 20 year old plastic fitting is probably pretty brittle. Depending on access of fitting I might look to get an estimate on getting it replaced. Just don't want to put a lot of money in this boat as I feel the last few years I spend more time on repairs than boating. Might be time for a change.