Pictures- Oil leaking from weep holes in lower unit on a looper 120?

**supervetteracer** · 01-05-2016, 12:28 PM

Was heading out to work and noticed that there was a decent amount of oil or gear lube that has leaked from my lower unit in the driveway.

Last nigh got down to 28, just enough for the water to freeze in the dogs water bowl. At first I thought that the lower unit had cracked. But upon further inspection I noticed that there are two pre drilled holes that the fluid is coming from.

History on this boat: I bough tit late summer. Supposedly the lower unit fluid had been changed. Ran it for the rest of the season. Had trouble with the oil injection system pumping way too much oil into the mix. I ended up blocking it off.

I don't know if the oil that has leaked is 2 stroke oil. (From what was left in the pump system) Or if it is lower unit lube.

I have the motor fully tilted down so that if there was water present that it would run out instead of staying in the outboard.

Thoughts? Is it possible that I have water in my lower unit and that it froze and pushed the lube out of the weep holes? Seems that if there was water present that it would be on TOP of the lube and would be the first to flow out.

Could this be 2 stroke oil that has flowed down and is simply draining out as it should?

Is this normal? Was is this indicative of?

**Dave Strong** · 01-05-2016, 12:42 PM

Looks like excess mix oil, gear lube has a very different smell than pre mix. What does the level of the gearcase look like?

Dave

**supervetteracer** · 01-05-2016, 01:31 PM

Originally Posted by Dave Strong

Looks like excess mix oil, gear lube has a very different smell than pre mix. What does the level of the gearcase look like?

Dave

Man I sure hope it's excess mix oil. I'm not sure if I understand the second part of your question. As in should I check the fluid level in the lower unit? I'm planning on changing it anyway, perhaps this is a good time to do so. I'm more concerned that this may have caused a seal to go bad inside the lower unit.

So if it is gear oil what would it be from?

If it is 2 stroke oil then I guess I don't need to worry about it. But from what I could tell I think it was gear oil.

**Dave Strong** · 01-05-2016, 01:43 PM

Smell the oil does it smell like gear lube? You can check the gearcase level to see if its full or change it and see if any water is present. Fill it with Merc High Perf gear lube and run it and check if you get the same thing the Merc stuff is a dark green-blue color so easy to tell the diff.

Dave

**supervetteracer** · 01-05-2016, 02:48 PM

Originally Posted by Dave Strong

Smell the oil does it smell like gear lube? You can check the gearcase level to see if its full or change it and see if any water is present. Fill it with Merc High Perf gear lube and run it and check if you get the same thing the Merc stuff is a dark green-blue color so easy to tell the diff.

Dave

OK... I'll change the lower unit fluid after work tonight.

We are about to get some pretty cold weather on Sunday. (Kentucky) Do you think that this has to do with something freezing in this outboard?

**Dave Strong** · 01-05-2016, 03:35 PM

If the motor was all the way down nothing froze.

Dave

**supervetteracer** · 01-05-2016, 04:30 PM

Found this information:

MASTERTECH'S Gearcase Tips

SERVICE TIP: Are you suspicious that your gearcase is leaking because you see black oil "leaking" around the propeller or collecting on the garage floor under the lower unit? Relax, because 9 times out of 10 what you're seeing is simply the residual lubricating oil running down out of the exhaust housing. When the motor is running, the unburned oil (95% of it) gets mixed with the cooling water discharged into the midsection's exhaust tube. Here it collects as a foamy emulsion, especially if the motor was used for extended period at low speed. After you put it up, the water evaporates, leaving the oil to run down and out the weep holes and the exhaust hub.
Best check first that the oil IN the gear housing is O.K., simply crack the lower screw and let a little out. It should be light to medium brown in color, and at least translucent.. Lighter, opaque and creamy colored indicates water intrusion. Inky black & burnt odor - - it's past due for a change. 100 % water, Bubbly grey-black gleep, under pressure, metallic colors, bad odors indicate serious problems. Unsure? Contact the Mastertech! At any rate, change the oil every 50 running hours using a high quality lube such as Evinrude-Johnson Ultra HPF or Mercury Premium Gear Lube and you shouldn't have any problems.

I will say that this outboard ran VERY rich for most of the summer. It may have a significant amount of residual oil. But if you look at teh ground, that seems like a LOT. And it all happened over the past three days. Guessing it was coincidental that the only thing different about teh last few days has been the tempts.

**harrells** · 01-05-2016, 04:52 PM

You certainly want to make sure there is no water in the gearcase before it gets below freezing, this could cause the gearcase to crack. I always change my gear lube in the winter before freezing temps get here. Hopefully it's 2-stroke, Give it the smell test.

**racer** · 01-05-2016, 05:07 PM

Generally what has been mentioned I agree with, what concerns me however is the hole below the water pick ups is in the same cavity which may indicate a drive shaft leak. I would drain and pressure check the lower.

**supervetteracer** · 01-05-2016, 06:02 PM

Originally Posted by racer

Generally what has been mentioned I agree with, what concerns me however is the hole below the water pick ups is in the same cavity which may indicate a drive shaft leak. I would drain and pressure check the lower.

Where is the cheapest place to get the tool required for pressure checking the lower unit? (Wondering if I can make one) I have auto tools. And a good air compressor. Fuel pressure gauges and such. Hate to blow a couple hundred on a tool I will probably use just once.

Additional info I found:
That is a water drain hole. Since oil is coming out of it, then the driveshaft seals (very common) are worn and will leak oil out when the motor is tilted up then lowered. The seals sit under the waterpump plate and are in the water passageway so any oil leakage will gravitate (no pun intended) to the lowest point which is the drain hole.

In my mind here is what I think has happened. I bet I have some water in the lower unit. I bet that it froze a bit and forced the lower unit oil out of the weep holes. I hope it did not damage any of the seals.

My thoughts are that I need to drain the lower unit like right now and then worry about pressure testing and such on a warmer day.

**FMP** · 01-05-2016, 06:17 PM

Is it gear lube or mix??? Smell it , rub it between yourt fingers , is it heavy or light .

**Dave Strong** · 01-05-2016, 07:39 PM

First thing to do is pull the drain screw before the vent screw. If no water comes outpull the vent drain it and refill with High Perf gear lube. If you see a bunch of water, refill it, pull the gearcase or wait till spring and take the whole boat to a good shop let them press test it. At least then you have peace of mind till spring.

Dave

**FMP** · 01-05-2016, 07:54 PM

" ...last night it got down to 28*... ", that's a good one. We got down to -4F or -20*C in town without the windchill.

**mn808gade** · 01-06-2016, 01:54 AM

by the way water will be on the bottom,oil floats on water.sample bottom plug---water will show up there FIRST... BUT it sounds like driveshaft seals pushed up. time to do a pump replacement anyway-th

**Dave Strong** · 01-06-2016, 02:03 AM

Originally Posted by mn808gade

by the way water will be on the bottom,oil floats on water.sample bottom plug---water will show up there FIRST... BUT it sounds like driveshaft seals pushed up. time to do a pump replacement anyway-th

Pretty sure thats why you pull the drain screw before the vent screw. If you run high perf gear lube it wont separate and the color of the oil tells you if water is present.

Dave