Engine problems- anyone help out an engine noob

C

Charter Tofino

Well-Known Member
Got home from fishing today and noticed the leg was leaking dirty oil. My knowledge of engines is limited and i dont know the problem although its prob easy fix. Its comin out of a small hole above the water intake. Do i have to replace the oil in the leg or something? i havent done that since i got the engine. heres a pic of it
eng.jpg
 
First you might try draining some of the gear oil out of the lower drain plug and checking its colour and consistency. If its milky ie. not nice clear oil, its got water mixed into it and you will likely have to replace the lower unit gear oil seals :(. Looks like oil seals to me ... Of course you'll get new oil after the seals are replaced :).
 
First you might try draining some of the gear oil out of the lower drain plug and checking its colour and consistency. If its milky ie. not nice clear oil, its got water mixed into it and you will likely have to replace the lower unit gear oil seals :(. Looks like oil seals to me ... Of course you'll get new oil after the seals are replaced :).
 
hmmm... we planned on fishing in the morning then no fishing for 2 wks and we can repair it. Would fishing one day on it be a no go?
 
hmmm... we planned on fishing in the morning then no fishing for 2 wks and we can repair it. Would fishing one day on it be a no go?
 
Kelly you have a seal leak I have one on my kicker but thats different. If you want to go out the least you should do is drain the leg oil put in new but if I were you on a limited budget don't chance it this close to prime time for one day of fishing!!!!!

Cheers ME

ps Not big dollars to fix. :)
 
Kelly you have a seal leak I have one on my kicker but thats different. If you want to go out the least you should do is drain the leg oil put in new but if I were you on a limited budget don't chance it this close to prime time for one day of fishing!!!!!

Cheers ME

ps Not big dollars to fix. :)
 
Tough call. Depends what your gear oil looks like. A bit of milkiness in the gear oil can be tolerated (very slow seal leak over time), you just need to stay on top of it.

What you're seeing could also just be unburnt fuel mixture mixed with water coming from the exhaust.

check this out: http://www.maxrules.com/fixgearcasetip.html

Good Luck!
 
Tough call. Depends what your gear oil looks like. A bit of milkiness in the gear oil can be tolerated (very slow seal leak over time), you just need to stay on top of it.

What you're seeing could also just be unburnt fuel mixture mixed with water coming from the exhaust.

check this out: http://www.maxrules.com/fixgearcasetip.html

Good Luck!
 
Kelly - I agree - that its best not to chance it. What is a pretty easy, cheap fix now could get ugly if the lower unit runs without proper lubrication.
 
Kelly - I agree - that its best not to chance it. What is a pretty easy, cheap fix now could get ugly if the lower unit runs without proper lubrication.
 
Good point it could be a rich oil mix rbv but by draining the leg oil should tell if it is a lower leg seal or not. The stains show it coming out of the exaust as well after a careful review of the photo, check the leg oil to be sure. However milky oil in the leg WILL cause premature failure of a leg.

Cheers ME
 
Good point it could be a rich oil mix rbv but by draining the leg oil should tell if it is a lower leg seal or not. The stains show it coming out of the exaust as well after a careful review of the photo, check the leg oil to be sure. However milky oil in the leg WILL cause premature failure of a leg.

Cheers ME
 
Sounds like i shouldnt bother gettin up for fishing. Maybe i can deal with it and get out for a bit in the afternoon. Its a light brownish color. The only thing unordinary today was i forgot to put oil into it and its oil injected. When the oil gets low you cant go to a high rpm so i quickly noticed that and filled it up no problem. Ran fine tonight. The oil hasnt been changed in a long time. how often should this be done? Do you just undo the oil screw in the pic and empty into something then fill it back up under the engine top? Can i replace seals with some research or does it definatly need to be brought in. Price ideas? sorry for all the questions and thanks for all the good info
 
Sounds like i shouldnt bother gettin up for fishing. Maybe i can deal with it and get out for a bit in the afternoon. Its a light brownish color. The only thing unordinary today was i forgot to put oil into it and its oil injected. When the oil gets low you cant go to a high rpm so i quickly noticed that and filled it up no problem. Ran fine tonight. The oil hasnt been changed in a long time. how often should this be done? Do you just undo the oil screw in the pic and empty into something then fill it back up under the engine top? Can i replace seals with some research or does it definatly need to be brought in. Price ideas? sorry for all the questions and thanks for all the good info
 
oh ya and i was just down at the marina checking on it and its not leaking anymore. I read it says it may happen when run at low speeds for long periods of time. I trolled nearly 8 hours today. I also havent changed the oil in well over the 50 hours sugggested. Ill do that tommorow. Forgot to say its a yamaha 30 oil inj.
 
oh ya and i was just down at the marina checking on it and its not leaking anymore. I read it says it may happen when run at low speeds for long periods of time. I trolled nearly 8 hours today. I also havent changed the oil in well over the 50 hours sugggested. Ill do that tommorow. Forgot to say its a yamaha 30 oil inj.
 
Howdy!

Kelly, you might want to join the forum on iboats and post your problem there. There's a bazzillion qualified people ( and a few who aren't) on there who'll litterally walk you through the fix after helping you diagnos the problem.

Don't run with a leaky gear-case!

Cheers,
Terry
 
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