Water in Outdrive - Milky Oil - Stored over winter in this condition

[TulsaTime]

OK, I think I get to wear the dunce hat now....

Maybe this post will help someone else (besides me

End of last season - the outdrive was leaking oil - didn't think much of it (but should have)
Did the usual winterization on the engine and exhaust manifold - didn't drain or re-fill the outdrive!

Last season, I replaced the outdrive oil and put too much oil in the drive - and blew out the shift lever seal and the drive shaft seal to to outdrive - unsure just yet of the propeller shaft seal. - Haven't done the pressure test on the unit yet. Will do that for sure before re-installing the drive. NO Doubt

So a comedy of errors going on here:
My question is, was there enough water in the outdrive oil to do internal damage to the outdrive over the winter?

I'm in Tulsa OK, so we don't have severely cold weather for long amounts of time, but we do see below freezing temps about a month or so - especially overnight temps.

I'm once again in the process of replacing all the seals, o-rings, gaskets, pressure testing etc etc. I know I'm trying to dodge bullets here, but I think it may be a lost cause if damage to the outdrive itself is too far gone? It doesn't have any obvious signs of bulging or cracking anywhere.

End note, we took the boat out last weekend (after replacing most the seals, gaskets and o-rings) and it performed great, no weird vibrations, but once again we have water in the drive unit (milky oil) I apparently installed the shift lever sealing ring upside down - was leaking pretty bad - I get to do all of this over again soon - Man, this is wearing me out!

 

[Scott Danforth]

oil floats

water sits on the bottom with the bearings all winter

water and bearings make rusty bearings which fail

at a minimum, pull the lower unit apart and look. if you have rust, you need new bearings

BTW to winterize, means to do all annual maintenance, including pulling the drive to inspect the gimble bearing and u-joints as well as the alignment. it also means to do the drive oil (every 50 hours or once a year)

 

[Lou C]

at a bare minimum you should be pulling the bottom drain plug and see if water comes out first before gear oil, if so you must drain it and pressure and vacuum test it. If only oil comes out then you have solved the water infiltration issue...

 

[Jeepster04]

Depends on just how much water was in the oil. Did you drain the water out to see how much came out before oil came out?

I'll normally pop the drive in gear for a bit then check the oil via the dipstick to see if its milky. Ill also crack the drain plug and see if oil comes out if the drive has been sitting for awhile.