XCAV8

Port drive spews oil out the breather........ well milky looking oil .... i should have dropped the old oil out, but the guy who sold me the boat said it was brand new synthetic 75 - 90 don't change it cause its new.... so i topped both drives off with mobil 1 75 - 90 syn... between the both of them i think they might have takin a qt.

i figured the drive had a bad seal and is taking water , so to test i bought water detecting paste, greenishblue in the bottle , when water is present it turns bright purple... i tested twice no change , no purple... means no water, if the paste even get the slightest bit of water it does turn bright purple... So if the oil is not contaminated with water then what??? and what is causing it to keep coming out the breather????

Starboard drive is fine , oil looks new???

Payton

Synthetic oil will not mix with water. You pull the drain plug for just a moment to see if water or oil will come out. The water will be on the bottom oil on the top. So when you pull the plug if there is water there, it will be the first to come out.

Good luck

jpclear

O.K. You really got me with this one. Been running a TRS since early 80's, Have rebuilt several, and don't know where "the breather" on a TRS drive is. I know that there is a reservoir tank on the inside outdrive mount with a dipstick, but a "breather"?? Enlighten me please. --- Jer

XCAV8

About 2" from the dipstick towards the transom...

jpclear

Got it! Thought you were talking of some kind of breather outside on the outdrive. I've always referred to your "breather" as a reservoir vent. I just got the terms confused. However, if you are starting with the oil in the drive at the proper level, (and you MUST establish that in the conventional manner from the OUTSIDE!) and the reservoir shows proper level, then you are either taking on fluid (it would HAVE to be water) or you have an overheating problem with that drive that is causing the oil to boil and foam. Some synthetics such as Amsoil 75/90 start out almost clear and when "whipped up" appear milky. Hope this helps! --- Jer

Audiofn

possible that if he had the drives off he pinched the gasket

XCAV8

its a tanish brown looking milk color, and i put new gaskets and seal in the drive... when i topped them off i pumped the oil in from the bottom drain plug til it hit the full line on the dipstick...

Wally

wait....you filled the drives from bottom up and kept the top plug on the drive closed? .....i think since the oil is thick to react to leveling off you may have over filled it and now thats why you are venting oil out the "breather". I think whats happening is that you completely fill the drive and start forcing the oil into the resevoir.....then when you go for a ride the ol heats up and gets "loose" or watery from the heat and levels out between the drive and res......thus overflowing out the breather....... (anyway thats my threory!!! )

I have always filled my TRS's with top and bottom plugs out...and when it starts ooozing out the top. i close that plug and top off the resevoir by hand when the drive is full.

jpclear

The "Wally Way" is the RIGHT way! --- Jer

415stinger

The Mercruiser shop manual says to do it the way XCAV8 is doing it, and they warn of severe damage doing it the other way. The top plug is a vent for draining.

The fluid expands a lot when under load and the full mark is for when it is hot. When I check mine when cold, it is barely touching the bottom of the dip stick. When I first got the boat, I filled the reservouir to the full mark when cold, and ended up with a bilge full of lube after use. This is a self correcting problem. After the extra lube drains out, the level is correct.

Check the level and fill when it is hot. When cold, check it again and note the level when cold.

Payton is right, tilt the engine and drain a little lube out the bottom drain. Water will pour out if you have a seal problem.