SX-M Outdrive filled with water

[99Sunesta]

I have a 1999 5.0 Gi/SX-M. Seemed to work fine during last use. (July 2008).
No gear oil on dipstick so I removed the bottom plug to top it off and a couple of quarts of water poured out with 3-4 drops of oil. It's been out of the water since last year. I did fire it up with a hose attached, ran it for about 5 minutes, engaged forward and reverse shortly and the screw seemed to turn fine.
All the plugs were tight with o-rings in good shape. Is it possible for all the oil to leak out and water from the hose to get in? Not sure about my next step. Any ideas??

 

[havasuboatman]

Re: SX-M Outdrive filled with water

I have a 1999 5.0 Gi/SX-M. Seemed to work fine during last use. (July 2008).
No gear oil on dipstick so I removed the bottom plug to top it off and a couple of quarts of water poured out with 3-4 drops of oil. It's been out of the water since last year. I did fire it up with a hose attached, ran it for about 5 minutes, engaged forward and reverse shortly and the screw seemed to turn fine.
All the plugs were tight with o-rings in good shape. Is it possible for all the oil to leak out and water from the hose to get in? Not sure about my next step. Any ideas??

You ran it without oil? It sat for almost a year with water it it?
It's very possible for all of the oil to leak out, But I doubt very much it happened while you were running it on the hose. You need to pressure test the out drive, find out where all your oil leaked out.
You have a bad seal somewhere. as the boat was used, the drive oil heated, pressurized enough to leak past a weak seal. Then as it cooled (while the boat was still in the water), a vacuum occured allowing water to be sucked past that same bad seal. It was probably going on all last summer as you used the boat.
Fill your drive with oil, run it for a minute or two, then drain the oil. If it's rusty, have your drive rebuilt, or you will end up stranded when the bearings fail.

 

[99Sunesta]

Re: SX-M Outdrive filled with water

Thank you for the quick reply havasuboatman. I'll have it pressure checked ASAP. Seems strange that it would seem to run ok with no oil, hopefully I ran it for a very short time when full of water. DO you think it might be the propshaft seal? Seem to see a lot about that here.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: SX-M Outdrive filled with water

Thank you for the quick reply havasuboatman. I'll have it pressure checked ASAP. Seems strange that it would seem to run ok with no oil, hopefully I ran it for a very short time when full of water. DO you think it might be the propshaft seal? Seem to see a lot about that here.

Of course it would "run ok" on the trailer for 5 min. The drive is not loaded at idle in the driveway.

This is why most manufacturers suggest draining/replacing the drive oil EVERY YEAR PRIOR to winter layup. You catch problems like this before it destroys the drive by sitting all winter with water in it.


At this point it doesn't matter why it leaked. It must be completely disassembled to inspect.

I suspect that you'll be rebuilding/replacing that drive.


Sorry about that.


Rick

 

[99Sunesta]

Re: SX-M Outdrive filled with water

Thanks for the reply Rick. Might be learning an expensive lesson here. Any idea what it should cost for a rebuild or replacement?

 

[sea wolf]

Re: SX-M Outdrive filled with water

Pull the top cover where the dipstick is & look at the upper gearset. If they're toast, it will cost you. If they look ok, I would find where the leak is, fix it, & refill the drive with fresh oil & see what happens. It will cost you a few bucks for the seal kits, plus labor. Do this before you go ordering a new drive. That sucker will cost you about 3 grand. And that's for a rebuilt unit. Good luck.

 

[sea wolf]

Re: SX-M Outdrive filled with water

Hold on. I may have made a mistake in the cost of that drive. I'm not sure what you have, so you can look up your setup here at iboats for a more accurate quote.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: SX-M Outdrive filled with water

Thanks for the reply Rick. Might be learning an expensive lesson here. Any idea what it should cost for a rebuild or replacement?

Yes, unfortunately that's sometimes how it happens.....

Here's an example of what you're looking for.


http://www.sterndrive.com/portfolio_details.cfm?id=11

I don't know if I would want to put oil in and run a drive that sat for a winter full of water. That might be a good question for DonS or other "Volvo Guy"

You might also try Ebay, there's usually a whole bunch of new and used drives there.

 

[DeskJockey]

Re: SX-M Outdrive filled with water

I'm having a similar issue, only mine didn't sit full of water for long. I must have a similar seal issue because my fluid will leak between the prop and drive. Mostly happens when i have it on the muffs in the drive. I'm limping along by topping off the fluid and draining the water out, when it gets sucked in by the vaccum action described earlier. Just biding time until I can get it in the shop for resealing the lower unit.
Good luck, but it sounds like Rick is right. I would hate to think what the inside looks like after sitting full of water all winter.

 

[99Sunesta]

Re: SX-M Outdrive filled with water

Thank you all for the notes. I'm having seals replaced and the entire outdrive checked out right now. So far, the tech thinks all I need the the upper seal kit and a few flushes. No noticeable rust (whew). Hoping I dodged a bullet.
Thanks for the input, I'll post the final outcome.

 

[Don S]

Re: SX-M Outdrive filled with water

Water is not a lubricant. I would be really really like to see the gear and bearing surfaces myself. They can not be good.

 

[99Sunesta]

Re: SX-M Outdrive filled with water

DonS, if I can get to the shop before the tech closes it back up, I'll see if I can snap a few pictures.