Lower end leak?

[bobberboy]

I have confessed elsewhere on this forum that I'm not a motor guy. Here's proof...

I have a 2009 Merc 25hp ELPT EFI. Yesterday I was going to go fishing and noticed some lower end fluid on the ground. There is a small hole on the port side of the motor just forward of the water intake. There has not been any leakage of any sort on the motor nor was there any fluid on the ground below the motor where I park the boat. I haven't used the boat for about four weeks and didn't see any sign of a leak at that time or since. It was only after I raised the motor to put in the transom saver that the leakage occurred. There was no leakage when the motor was in the vertical, running position. I did check the fluid level at the plug and it was just below the hole. I looked online and couldn't find what the purpose of the hole is to try to get a clue as to what may be happening. The Mercury site didn't have any useful info and the owner's manual was equally useless. I don't have a shop manual. I have a call in to the shop. Speaking of getting a clue...



We took out the kayaks instead. A few fish on but none to the boat. The water was very high and the weeds/pads very thick. The fish kept getting caught in the pads and got free. Maybe in the kayaks we were too close to the surface and couldn't haul them out. Otherwise a fantastic day on the lake.

 

[Timtactical]

Can you see it running out of the hole? Could be a bad seal but I wouldn't think so on such a new motor.

 

[bobberboy]

Timtactical » 26 minutes ago[/url]"]Can you see it running out of the hole? Could be a bad seal but I wouldn't think so on such a new motor.

When it was on the transom saver it was running out of the hole, otherwise not.

 

[PATRIOT]

Is the inside of the hole threaded?

 

[bobberboy]

PATRIOT » 1 minute ago[/url]"]Is the inside of the hole threaded?

I wondered that too. It doesn't seem to be so the thought that a screw's come out doesn't answer it. The two ports for the gear oil are on the opposite side.

 

[SumDumGuy]

Is it a drain hole?

 

[bobberboy]

It's a leaky seal. There are three seals in the lower end. One of them is leaking. The motor's worth more than my car so I took it in to the mechanic. I'll practice on something else. I'll have it back in a couple of days. Thanks.

 

[Pappy]

Your mechanic will either be replacing a driveshaft seal or a shift shaft seal....or both.
The hole you are looking at is there for water drainage to keep the gearcase housing from freezing.
Both seals mentioned are located above that drain so when the engine was on a transom saver the oil runs toward the leading edge and down into the cavity where it can drain out.
Good catch on your part before damage occurred!

 

[bobberboy]

Pappy » Yesterday, 21:13[/url]"]Your mechanic will either be replacing a driveshaft seal or a shift shaft seal....or both.
The hole you are looking at is there for water drainage to keep the gearcase housing from freezing.
Both seals mentioned are located above that drain so when the engine was on a transom saver the oil runs toward the leading edge and down into the cavity where it can drain out.
Good catch on your part before damage occurred!

Thanks Pappy. I don't know where you got your motor savvy but you're always right in there with the knowhow.

 

[TNtroller]

Not to jack a thread, but my ? is along a similar line (leak). Would a bad LU drain plug seal/gasket cause the same type of leak? I noticed something very similar to his leak on my 04 Merc 60 2s, a week ago, the dealership service guy suggested I check to see if there was any water in the LU oil, there was, not much but there was some water in the LU oil. Changed the LU oil and installed new gaskets/seals on all 3 plugs, and ran the motor today, waiting to see if I get the same leak again.

When I removed one of the plugs, the gasket had separated and ended up being two pieces of gasket instead of one piece as designed. The other two plug gaskets looked "ok", but I did use all new gaskets.

 

[bobberboy]

TNtroller » 1 minute ago[/url]"]Not to jack a thread, but my ? is along a similar line (leak). Would a bad LU drain plug seal/gasket cause the same type of leak? I noticed something very similar to his leak on my 04 Merc 60 2s, a week ago, the dealership service guy suggested I check to see if there was any water in the LU oil, there was, not much but there was some water in the LU oil. Changed the LU oil and installed new gaskets/seals on all 3 plugs, and ran the motor today, waiting to see if I get the same leak again.

When I removed one of the plugs, the gasket had separated and ended up being two pieces of gasket instead of one piece as designed. The other two plug gaskets looked "ok", but I did use all new gaskets.

I haven't heard back yet about mine. Water in the lower unit is bad news when you live in MN and don't winterize in the fall. I don't think that was the case with mine, the service manager thought one of the seals. It's funny it didn't happen the first time I took out the boat this year but about a month after. No sign of any problem until I raised it to put on the transom saver. I just feel lucky I saw it before something expensive happened.

 

[TNtroller]

This is the 1st time my 60 has leaked as well, and I "hope" I caught my leak in time as well. I was out checking the boat out for a trip the next day, and just noticed some liquid on the LU, transom saver and a small puddle (size of a quarter) on the floor. Started investigating and talked to a buddy who is a pretty good OB mechanic and the service dept at a local dealer, and came up with this plan. If I get some more leakage, then mine goes to the shop as well.

It got cold here last winter due to the polar vortex, etc., and usually doesn't get that cold here for long periods, so I'm hoping I in good shape, but time will tell. Hope you get good results on yours as well.