Appearance of Residue On Gear Case - Moderated Discussion Areas

  ContinuousWave
  Whaler
  Moderated Discussion Areas
  ContinuousWave: Whaler Repairs/Mods
  Appearance of Residue On Gear Case

search | FAQ | profile | register | author help

Author Topic:   Appearance of Residue On Gear Case

beantown posted 02-03-2009 11:10 AM ET (US)
Hey everyone: I hope you are all enjoying you cold winter and starting to think about the boating season. I noticed a the end of the season that when I left my engine, a 90-HP E-TEC, in the up position [on] the trailer I would see some oil, or gear lubricant, or something, leaking out of the inlet water holes on the gear case. I am going to bring it in to the dealer as soon as it gets warm, but I wanted to see if anyone else had an idea. I can't really tell what the fluid is but, I would assume that it is not right. It is a 2008 E-TEC 90-HP with maybe 100 hours on it. Thanks. Happy winter.--Beantown
Tohsgib posted 02-03-2009 11:42 AM ET (US)
What [is the] color [of the fluid or oil you are seeing]? If [the fluid is] dark then it is exhaust and is normal; if light oil colored you have a leak.
revengewanted posted 02-03-2009 12:05 PM ET (US)
If you performed the "Winterization" procedure as set out in the manual, then it is normal for some oil to appear on the skeg. Perhaps this is the oil that you are seeing as it may have migrated to the water inlet area if the engine was left in the up position over the winter.
Cheers,
george
seabob4 posted 02-03-2009 02:42 PM ET (US)
This would make it 3 out of 3. Absolutely normal, if not a little unsightly.
beantown posted 02-03-2009 03:22 PM ET (US)
Well, [the E-TEC motor] is a white one. Are they really that different? I heard the only difference was that the white [E-TEC motors] just had some more [stainless steel] parts and another [sacrificial] anode. Guess I should bring it in for a check up. Thanks for the input.
One more thing. [The oil] only [appears] when [the motor] is in the raised position. I would notice [the appearance of the oil] when I would get home from the lake for the day. [The motor] is in storage right now, all the way down and I haven't seen a leak at all. Weird.
Buckda posted 02-03-2009 03:25 PM ET (US)
Beantown -
I have two 2006 90-HP E-TEC motors. I've not noticed any black or oil residue on my gear cases after winterization, however, I do store the engines tilted back down to almost vertical instead of up. The skegs are resting on small blocks of wood on the floor (to keep from damage) so that the tilt ram is mostly protected inside the housing. The manual also recommends storing the engines in a vertical position.
You should inspect the residue carefully. If you changed the lower unit oil when you winterized the motor, is it possible that you failed to remove the o-ring on the gearcase?
The lower unit gear oil is not scheduled to be replaced for 300 hours, but I change mine annually due to the freeze/thaw cycle we have here in the northland. I figure never hurts to be sure.
Incidentally, the lower unit gear oil is green/blue and will come out a light green/cloudy if it has water in it. If your gear oil is creme/caramel or amber like traditional oil, you are using, or your dealer is using, the wrong stuff - make him change it to the spec'd high performance stuff.
It sounds to me like you are seeing carbon, which is normal in a traditional 2-stroke engine, but a bit unusual (from my experience) for an E-TEC. Are you using xd-100 oil? If so, you should not have any carbon/ash in the exhaust hub unless you have overpropped the engine or overloaded the boat - and the engine is lugging. Under normal operation and with xd-100 you should have very little carbon build up.
I would take a photo and share it with your dealer to see what he has to say.
If I had to guess, I'd say that it is PROBABLY what others here have suggested, but my feeling is that the presence of that much carbon probably indicates another problem - or else is indicative of you burning a lower-quality oil in the motor.
Good luck - let us know what you find out.
Dave
beantown posted 02-03-2009 03:27 PM ET (US)
Wow, I am a little slow today. I though Tohsgib was asking what color the motor was. Sorry. The oil color is dark and bluish. Thanks all
Buckda posted 02-03-2009 05:46 PM ET (US)
Hmm. Dark bluish. Not a great sign there. How thick is it? I think I might do a drive by with the Whaler to the local E-TEC dealer to have him make an informed opinion. Sure sounds like a leak to me. Perhaps he or his mechanic didn't replace the seals properly when changing the lower unit oil. Or the drain plug is loose?
Dave
seahorse posted 02-03-2009 05:55 PM ET (US)
Evinrude got a batch of out-of-spec O-rings a while back that did not stay flexible, but would take a set after a time and oil would seep past them when the motor was tilted up. It was the O-ring for the upper driveshaft bearing housing.
It is a quick fix and your dealer should know about it as it was mentioned in a service letter a while back. The replacement O-ring is a brown color and of different material.
jimh posted 02-03-2009 08:42 PM ET (US)
It is typical that after a winterization process or after the engine has been run with a heavy dose of oil mixed with the fuel, there can be some oily residue in the exhaust. This residue can sometimes flow down the exhaust passages and wind up coming out the propeller exhaust. You often see this. But you would expect this would occur when the engine was tilted down.
If the residue appears only when the engine is tilted up, it could be from the gear case itself, and, as Seahorse mentions, be coming from a leak in the seal of the drive shaft at the upper part of the gear case.
It would be prudent to have this checked out, particularly with the information at hand that there is a known problem with the O-ring in the upper drive shaft seal on the gear case of certain E-TEC motors.
beantown posted 02-04-2009 08:56 AM ET (US)
Thanks everyone. I will let you know what kind of answer I get from the dealer when I bring it in...
Beantown

Hop to:

Contact Us | RETURN to ContinuousWave Top Page

Powered by: Ultimate Bulletin Board, Freeware Version 2000
Purchase our Licensed Version- which adds many more features!
© Infopop Corporation (formerly Madrona Park, Inc.), 1998 - 2000.

Author	Topic: Appearance of Residue On Gear Case
beantown	posted 02-03-2009 11:10 AM ET (US) Hey everyone: I hope you are all enjoying you cold winter and starting to think about the boating season. I noticed a the end of the season that when I left my engine, a 90-HP E-TEC, in the up position [on] the trailer I would see some oil, or gear lubricant, or something, leaking out of the inlet water holes on the gear case. I am going to bring it in to the dealer as soon as it gets warm, but I wanted to see if anyone else had an idea. I can't really tell what the fluid is but, I would assume that it is not right. It is a 2008 E-TEC 90-HP with maybe 100 hours on it. Thanks. Happy winter.--Beantown
Tohsgib	posted 02-03-2009 11:42 AM ET (US) What [is the] color [of the fluid or oil you are seeing]? If [the fluid is] dark then it is exhaust and is normal; if light oil colored you have a leak.
revengewanted	posted 02-03-2009 12:05 PM ET (US) If you performed the "Winterization" procedure as set out in the manual, then it is normal for some oil to appear on the skeg. Perhaps this is the oil that you are seeing as it may have migrated to the water inlet area if the engine was left in the up position over the winter. Cheers, george
seabob4	posted 02-03-2009 02:42 PM ET (US) This would make it 3 out of 3. Absolutely normal, if not a little unsightly.
beantown	posted 02-03-2009 03:22 PM ET (US) Well, [the E-TEC motor] is a white one. Are they really that different? I heard the only difference was that the white [E-TEC motors] just had some more [stainless steel] parts and another [sacrificial] anode. Guess I should bring it in for a check up. Thanks for the input. One more thing. [The oil] only [appears] when [the motor] is in the raised position. I would notice [the appearance of the oil] when I would get home from the lake for the day. [The motor] is in storage right now, all the way down and I haven't seen a leak at all. Weird.
Buckda	posted 02-03-2009 03:25 PM ET (US) Beantown - I have two 2006 90-HP E-TEC motors. I've not noticed any black or oil residue on my gear cases after winterization, however, I do store the engines tilted back down to almost vertical instead of up. The skegs are resting on small blocks of wood on the floor (to keep from damage) so that the tilt ram is mostly protected inside the housing. The manual also recommends storing the engines in a vertical position. You should inspect the residue carefully. If you changed the lower unit oil when you winterized the motor, is it possible that you failed to remove the o-ring on the gearcase? The lower unit gear oil is not scheduled to be replaced for 300 hours, but I change mine annually due to the freeze/thaw cycle we have here in the northland. I figure never hurts to be sure. Incidentally, the lower unit gear oil is green/blue and will come out a light green/cloudy if it has water in it. If your gear oil is creme/caramel or amber like traditional oil, you are using, or your dealer is using, the wrong stuff - make him change it to the spec'd high performance stuff. It sounds to me like you are seeing carbon, which is normal in a traditional 2-stroke engine, but a bit unusual (from my experience) for an E-TEC. Are you using xd-100 oil? If so, you should not have any carbon/ash in the exhaust hub unless you have overpropped the engine or overloaded the boat - and the engine is lugging. Under normal operation and with xd-100 you should have very little carbon build up. I would take a photo and share it with your dealer to see what he has to say. If I had to guess, I'd say that it is PROBABLY what others here have suggested, but my feeling is that the presence of that much carbon probably indicates another problem - or else is indicative of you burning a lower-quality oil in the motor. Good luck - let us know what you find out. Dave
beantown	posted 02-03-2009 03:27 PM ET (US) Wow, I am a little slow today. I though Tohsgib was asking what color the motor was. Sorry. The oil color is dark and bluish. Thanks all
Buckda	posted 02-03-2009 05:46 PM ET (US) Hmm. Dark bluish. Not a great sign there. How thick is it? I think I might do a drive by with the Whaler to the local E-TEC dealer to have him make an informed opinion. Sure sounds like a leak to me. Perhaps he or his mechanic didn't replace the seals properly when changing the lower unit oil. Or the drain plug is loose? Dave
seahorse	posted 02-03-2009 05:55 PM ET (US) Evinrude got a batch of out-of-spec O-rings a while back that did not stay flexible, but would take a set after a time and oil would seep past them when the motor was tilted up. It was the O-ring for the upper driveshaft bearing housing. It is a quick fix and your dealer should know about it as it was mentioned in a service letter a while back. The replacement O-ring is a brown color and of different material.
jimh	posted 02-03-2009 08:42 PM ET (US) It is typical that after a winterization process or after the engine has been run with a heavy dose of oil mixed with the fuel, there can be some oily residue in the exhaust. This residue can sometimes flow down the exhaust passages and wind up coming out the propeller exhaust. You often see this. But you would expect this would occur when the engine was tilted down. If the residue appears only when the engine is tilted up, it could be from the gear case itself, and, as Seahorse mentions, be coming from a leak in the seal of the drive shaft at the upper part of the gear case. It would be prudent to have this checked out, particularly with the information at hand that there is a known problem with the O-ring in the upper drive shaft seal on the gear case of certain E-TEC motors.
beantown	posted 02-04-2009 08:56 AM ET (US) Thanks everyone. I will let you know what kind of answer I get from the dealer when I bring it in... Beantown