drive shaft seal oil leak?

[sudsy]

Hey guys, went and checked on my boat today and noticed a little bit of what appeared to be engine oil on the top of the transom where the motor is bolted on. I have my engine tilted fully out of the water and immediately thought it was coming from inside the engine cowling. After investigating more and proving it wasn't coming from the inside the engine compartment, I began looking elsewhere. After tilting the motor fully up out of the water again and looking at the underside of the engine compartment I could see where the drive shaft comes down out of the engine? I took a photo so not sure if this is where the crankshaft seal is just guessing, hopefully someone can recognize this from the photo, give me some advice on a way ahead. I am keeping my fingers crossed that a full engine disassembly is not required to get at this seal, I do have the shop manual and will be looking through it tonight, just wanted to prod the members here for any advice.

The photo doesn't show oil leaking, but that is where I found a bubble of oil on the shaft, and after running the motor for 5 mins and tilting the engine up fully it was beginning to show signs of leakage.

the motor is a 2005 Mercury 115hp four stroke EFI.

thanks,

 

[Gypseas]

I'm thinking that's the "pivot shaft". The drive shaft should be in the middle of the leg. I would be surprised if the drive shaft can be seen from any angle.

cheers

 

[combover]

check out boats.net net.

if you drop the gearcase the drive shaft will come out of powerhead at that point. i would start with that gear case is relatively easy to pull.
run the engine get it up to operating temps then pull the gear case have a look up the exhaust housing with a flash light it might shed some insight on what happening even the splines at the top of the shaft may tell the story.
that being said i believe the oil pump is below the crank main seal. the power head will have to come off either way.

 

[sudsy]

check out boats.net net.

if you drop the gearcase the drive shaft will come out of powerhead at that point. i would start with that gear case is relatively easy to pull.
run the engine get it up to operating temps then pull the gear case have a look up the exhaust housing with a flash light it might shed some insight on what happening even the splines at the top of the shaft may tell the story.
that being said i believe the oil pump is below the crank main seal. the power head will have to come off either way.

Thanks for the advice guys, After looking at the service manual, im suspecting a bad seal on the oil pump, looks like i will have to lift the powerhead as you mentioned. Doesnt seem too hard, about 6 nuts and 2 bolts to remove, lift off the powerhead ( with engine lift) then replace seals on oil pump where shaft passes through, replace gasket, re seat the power head and torque bolts... Im planning on getting some quotes but may attempt this myself.

Not the way i imagined starting my season of fishing!


Edited: in the picture i suspect it is the seal labeled E in the diagram, it should stop oil from getting to the drive shaft spline, looks like the seal is only $20, but to replace it i will have to lift the power head off and replace the power head gasket ($180) Does anyone have the lifting eye to lift the power head off? looks like its a special tool that costs almost $400 and for that price I may as well look at getting a shop to do it. Anyone recommend any mobile mechanics or backyard mechanics that you trust and that dont charge a fortune????


Is this something i should get fixed asap, or could i just monitor it as its not dumping a lot of oil out, i could just top it up and monitor it over a period to see how much its actually leaking?
thanks
sudsy

 

[combover]

run a chain from two larger bolts across the power head say for example a head bolt and the starter bracket bolt back them out put the chain on then put them back on snug then run your hoist from the center the leveler it comes off the better.
drop the gearcase first makes things way easier, take care with the regards to the shift shaft and put it in drive before removing.when lifting the power head watch for anything that might have been missed(hoses wires BOLTS) it should come apart fairly easily, watch the dowels pins/locaters don't drop and before reassemble make sure nothing got into the pan/sump.
all that being said the oil pump and again i'm not 100% on this is below the top motor mount brackets which can be troublesome at times to remove.
the job is very doable by a handy type person with TIME and patience when things go a little sideways . things to change along the way would be the impeller (gearcase is off) oil pump seals, power head base gasket. lube the gearcase splines before reinstalling.
i would estimate you'll be a 5-8hrs for the job at a shop. thats if the mid section and mounts don't have to come off to get to the oil pump
for me i would defiantly fix it before it does become a major issue.

hope that helps

 

[sudsy]

run a chain from two larger bolts across the power head say for example a head bolt and the starter bracket bolt back them out put the chain on then put them back on snug then run your hoist from the center the leveler it comes off the better.
drop the gearcase first makes things way easier, take care with the regards to the shift shaft and put it in drive before removing.when lifting the power head watch for anything that might have been missed(hoses wires BOLTS) it should come apart fairly easily, watch the dowels pins/locaters don't drop and before reassemble make sure nothing got into the pan/sump.
all that being said the oil pump and again i'm not 100% on this is below the top motor mount brackets which can be troublesome at times to remove.
the job is very doable by a handy type person with TIME and patience when things go a little sideways . things to change along the way would be the impeller (gearcase is off) oil pump seals, power head base gasket. lube the gearcase splines before reinstalling.
i would estimate you'll be a 5-8hrs for the job at a shop. thats if the mid section and mounts don't have to come off to get to the oil pump
for me i would defiantly fix it before it does become a major issue.

hope that helps

Thanks combover, i will get some quotes on parts monday,

Does anyone know where i can borrow an engine hoist/ lift?

I would like to attempt this myself as im fairly mechanically inclined, (naval weapons technician in the navy) obviously need the right parts to do the job (engine hoist)

Thanks
Sudsy

 

[sudsy]

So today i removed the lower cowling and dropped the leg, as i suspected that the oil pump seal was causing the oil leak i assumed that when the drive shaft pulled away there would be oil leaking, however that wasnt the case. After sitting with a flashlight and looking for any signs of oil leaking i came to the conclusion that its not coming from there, glad i didnt bring it to a shop and waste my money. Im going to redo the impeller tomorrow since the lower leg is off, put it all back together and monitor for leaks, it may have been some oil that spilled in the cowling from when i did my oil change in october, atleast thats what im suspecting for now. Thanks to everyone for the help, if it starts leaking anymore i will post back with more ideas and troubleshooting

cheers
sudsy