White creamy oil leak

[fxdl]

I have a 1999, 9.9 Mercury 4 stroke kicker which is leaking white creamy oil from two small holes at the bottom of the driveshaft housing, just above the top oil vent hole. I understand white oil indicates water in oil, but my question is, what is the purpose of the two holes and should I be concerned about this or is it normal. It actually runs down both sides of the gear housing. I just got into boating and have a lot to learn about these motors.

 

[harleyman124]

Re: White creamy oil leak

do a search on "grey foam from exhaust" .....i am in the process of rebuilding the motor ...will let you know what happens when i fire her up....btw...i live in mifflintown....small world...

 

[roscoe]

Re: White creamy oil leak

The purpose of the two holes is to drain any water from the midsection of the motor, so that it can't freeze and crack the motor.<br /><br />You should have no oil coming from your exhaust, as you have a four stroke.<br /><br />The milky oil could be coming from the driveshaft seal or shiftshaft seal, located on the topside of the lowerunit. This means that the oil from the lower unit is leaking out, and that water is getting into the lower unit.<br /><br />Check the lower unit lube oil to see if it is milky or contains water.

 

[fxdl]

Re: White creamy oil leak

My lower unit lube oil definately has water in it. I never see anything leaking around the prop area and I've replaced the fill and vent gaskets. <br /><br />As I said, oil is getting into the drive shaft housing (mid section) and water is getting into the lower unit. I seems there's got to be a seal leaking between the mid section and lower unit, allowing the water and oil to mix. Would that be a water pump gasket or what?

 

[bh357]

Re: White creamy oil leak

I recently replaced the driveshaft and shiftshaft seals on my 1963 Merc 1000. The lube was creamy when I drained it (after running it on the muffs). After it was transported home laying down, I had lube leaking from a weep hole just above the gear housing. This hole was right in the vicinity of the shift shaft, which led me to believe that it was the shift shaft seal. Still haven't run the motor since replacement. The seals aren't too difficult to replace. The shift shaft on my motor did require a special tool, which I ordered through mercurypartsexpress.com.

 

[randycc58]

Re: White creamy oil leak

sometimes you can get fishing line behind the prop and it will force its way through the seal and create a leak.if you find that to be the case you'll need to replace the seal