? for gearcaseman

[castin4five]

My old faststrike was getting water in the lower unit so I took it down and put all new seals and o-rings in it. Well, I went to the lake and ran it a bit, loaded up and checked for water and sure enough it was milky looking. I went back home and took it down again and put a vacuum/pressure tester and it was leaking around the shift shaft o-rings. I didn't replace them the first time because I didn't have a manual at the time and didn't know they were there. Got those replaced and took a trip to the lake and all was good. Now, about a month later, I checked it again and the oil looks just like mustard! Yellow as can be. I let it sit for a couple days to see if it would seperate and it didn't. Is this still a sign of water? And also, if there's water entering the oil somewhere, shouldn't the lower unit become overfilled at some point? It's not overfilled at all and there's no sign of oil in or around the prop either? Thanks in advance for your help.

[gearcaseman]

Well, we have several possibilities here. The new oil you put in could be interacting with the residual oil left behind creating the unusual color, or you could have developed another small leak after the new seals were put in, or you could have a problem with a slight crack in the housing somewhere that was'nt detected during your P & V test. These can be very minute sometimes and will slip by you. Always spray a soapy water solution all over the case as well as total submersion in water if you suspect a slight leak. As you know, most leak areas are obvious, but some can be a little harder to find. Concerning the overfill situation, most leaks are exchanging one fluid for another, that is, water is coming in while your oil is going out into the lake, and you never know it till it's too late. Always keep a close check on what's in the unit by unscrewing the plug and see that oil only is dripping out.

[castin4five]

hmmmm....I didn't try the soapy water on the case, I'll do that asap. I've still got this oil setting in a clear bottle in the garage and it still doesn't show signs of seperating....kinda baffling. I'm not giving up though, things like this drive me crazy until it's fixed. Thanks for your advice. Your the man!

[gearcaseman]

Why not give some Royal Purple a try when you fill it back up? You can find it at most O'reilly stores. Use the 75-90 gearoil, I think you'll like it. Thanks, E.P.