Water in upper housing?(added photo link)

[Mahoney]

was planning on taking the boat out for the first time ever after getting engine running well this weekend. I started checking the gear lubricant in the intermediat housing, lower housing and the upper housing. All looked good until I got to the upper gear housing and the gear lube was a light color. I drained it, refilled with gear lube and ran on trailer with the water hookup for a bit, placing it into forward gear for a minute really slow.<br /><br />I checked again after engine shutdown and gear lube milky again.<br /><br />What am I looking at here? I have the manuals, and have seen a couple posts that indicate this is a seal fix and is relatively easy do it yourself thing.

 

[Laddies]

Re: Water in upper housing?(added photo link)

Sounds like its the bottom seal on the upper housing, because on a hose there is no water at the input shaft seal

 

[Mahoney]

Re: Water in upper housing?(added photo link)

Is there any way to tell for sure, I took the cover off the upper gearcase with the drive still on the boat and supports on a lift, when I lowered the assembly I was able to see a big seal that looked to be in good shape(a seal about7 inches in diameter"bottom seal I am guessing")<br /><br />All gears I could see in the upper drive looked brand new.

 

[keelhauled]

Re: Water in upper housing?(added photo link)

If the uppers on the electric stringers are the same as mechanicals (mine is mech. shift is yours electric?)...<br /><br />You're referring to the o-ring where the lower meets the upper... that's not the problem. There's a set of 2 oil seals (back to back) above the water pump that are prone to fail. Those seals from Napa or a bearing shop are REALLY expensive because they know they are for a boat and they are stainless. I found it was cheaper to buy the whole upper seal kit, since those seals are included and you'll need some of the other seals included to do the job. Might as well replace the water pump while you are in there since you have to take it out anyway. Replace the whole pump, not just the impeller. Trust me, it's a pain and you'll not want to have to mess with it for a while. There's a spacer that sits between the seals and the shaft bearing. Be careful not to damage it as it does not come with the seal kit. Make sure you put the seals in the correct direction or you'll make it far worse <br /><br />I'm not a mechanic, but i fixed this one myself. Yes, it's a pain in the rear! Good luck!

 

[Mahoney]

Re: Water in upper housing?(added photo link)

Thats what I was afraid of. I am not a mechanic either, but have quite a bit of mechanical experience so I am sure this is to my ability, although this is a first for sterndrives.<br /><br />I actually wasn't sure if mine was electric or mechanical shift, when I took the top housing cover off I did see an electrical wire there held up by the shift cable spring. so I am guessing electric.<br /><br />Were you able to do this project with regular tools or did you need to invest in a bunch of specialty tools? Reason I ask, is this drive was overhauled by a shop prior to storage for 4 years but is quite old. if it is going to end up costing me over $500 to fix this, I might just sell this one and get a new drive.<br /><br />I would like to fix it though so I can hit the water.

 

[keelhauled]

Re: Water in upper housing?(added photo link)

Nahh.. I did it in a garage with basic tools. Once the lower is out of the way, there's 4 bolts that hold the whole thing together. Take very, very careful note how it comes apart and you can put it back together. I have an exploded diagram of the housing somewhere (i think). I'll try to find it and post it. You'll see that once the water pump is out of the way that the whole darn gear housing that holds the vertical shaft comes out as one unit. Makes it easy to replace the seals since you can put it on the workbench.

 

[Mahoney]

Re: Water in upper housing?(added photo link)

I see the seals kit listed for about $65 so I will pick that up. I have the manual, but it was a bit intimidating how many special tools it showed you needed to put the ball gears and such back together, I am guessing I will just bypass those things and concentrate on the water pump and the other seals.<br /><br />Did you remove the whole sterndrive or just tilt up the drive and remove the lower then the upper and slide it off to bring to the garage?<br /><br />I was really looking forward to taking it out this weekend, but the milky color of the gear lube in the upperdrive scared me.

 

[keelhauled]

Re: Water in upper housing?(added photo link)

Drop the lower half and move it aside. Carefully; don't pull on the wires/cable. That'd be bad. Leave the drive tilted down. Tilting it up will make it harder to work with. You don't need to take the upper off. Work with it on the boat. I'm working on the exploded diagram... should have something shortly.<br /><br />Like laddiesservice said, if the 'ballgear' seals on the input shaft are bad, it won't show while on the hose, only in the water. Pray that they are OK because that's a whole different ball game (no pun intended).<br /><br />Buy the water pump, too. Not just the impeller. Trust me, you don't want to do this twice and it's not that expensive. Often times the failure of these seals is due to the failure of the water pump. When the pump seals deteriorate it allows water to get behind the pump housing and it stays there. When that water freezes, it can crack the pump and destroy the oil seals all in one shot. It's cheap insurance just to replace the pump.

 

[Mahoney]

Re: Water in upper housing?(added photo link)

Buying pump too now, thanks.

 

[Mahoney]

Re: Water in upper housing?(added photo link)

I think I might have had the water pump crack due to freezing, which is the only thing I can think of that could have happened as it was fine before. Since the intermediate fluid and the lower unit fluid is fine, this should be a relatively cheap lesson learned. $50 for upper seal kit and $60 for water pump kit.

 

[keelhauled]

Re: Water in upper housing?(added photo link)

I'm gonna try to post my first picture... could be interesting: If you can't see the pic, Here's a link! <br /><br />

<br /><br />Remember, I'm assuming your drive is the same or real similar to mine. If anyone knows otherwise, please chime in! Mine is the low-profile 800 series stringer drive.

 

[keelhauled]

Re: Water in upper housing?(added photo link)

Do you notice any oil residue in the water intakes or pee-hole on the lower? If water is getting in your upper, most of the time oil will get out... and it ends up in these 2 places.

 

[Mahoney]

Re: Water in upper housing?(added photo link)

That appears to be the unit right on the money. I do not see any oil residue anywhere coming out. I have only run this boat on the trailer with the pivot hookup, not muffs. The gear lub in the lower and the intermediate looked as it did when I changed it late last fall.<br /><br />I also don't notice any drop in level over time as of yet, I am going to run it on the hose tomorrow for a sec and check again, but it seems that maybe the water pressure I am using might be really high from the hose?

 

[keelhauled]

Re: Water in upper housing?(added photo link)

Hmmm... high water pressure might blow water past the seals... not good. I've found, and some might disagree with me, that muffs are a better choice since they allow excess water to escape instead of forcing it into the drive/engine. I can't really say if there's truly a difference. Also, it would probably only lose lube if the seals were totally trashed, so i guess it's really a moot point. I guess I was just curious.

 

[Mahoney]

Re: Water in upper housing?(added photo link)

Maybe tomorrow I will try with really low water pressure. I already ordered the parts so I will go ahead and install them when they get here, but if running on low pressure water does not get in the housing, that might be the cause.<br /><br />I also plan to pull the upperhousing this weekend to take a look see. I suppose I can wait another week before taking it out.

 

[keelhauled]

Re: Water in upper housing?(added photo link)

When you get it all apart, check for cracks in the housings. If this mess was caused by freeze damage, there's always a chance for cracks. Not trying to scare you, just trying to think of everything!

 

[Mahoney]

Re: Water in upper housing?(added photo link)

Will do, thanks a bunch. I will most likely have some follow ups to this after this weekend when the parts get here.

 

[KaGee]

Re: Water in upper housing?(added photo link)

You are going to have a problem getting that pinion gear off if you don't have a tool or an older water pump shaft to hold the upper drive shaft. <br /><br />That gear needs to come off before you can replace the lower seals on that shaft. Be careful taking apart so you don't rip up the shims!

 

[keelhauled]

Re: Water in upper housing?(added photo link)

Really? I pulled the old seals out the bottom and never removed the gear... was I just lucky?

 

[Mahoney]

Re: Water in upper housing?(added photo link)

I am going to run a test on the muffs later and see if I get water intrusion into the gearlube that way. It's odd that I do not see any lubricant leaking out anywhere after it has been sitting for over 24 hours, and the level remains the same, indicating at least a little vacuum.<br /><br />I will try and remove the upper housing module without disconnecting the whole drive from the transom, I understand there are one time seals that need to be replaced if you do this. If I keep having to order parts for little projects that aren't entirely necessary, I will never get this thing on the water!<br /><br />I enjoy putting the time in and soaking up knowledge from these boards and hands on tinkering, but it's worthless if you can't take her out and appreciate it all!