I took off the prop and no fishing line, both plugs were tight and the seals
in perfect condition and like I said I pressurized it to 20 psi and sprayed
soapy water around the shaft, shift rod and driveshaft seals and no bubbles.
The only thing left would be a vacuum test which I did not perform. Anyway I
sent it off to the dealer yesterday. Come to think of it the prop was loose
and beat up on the shaft but the shaft itself was true as I rotated it. How
do you find the Mercury props with removable plastic OMC hubs. I have 2
motors with these props and they always seem to get loose.
"Billgran" wrote in message
om...

"habbi" wrote in message
...
I have a 2001 250 Johnson XXL which was new in May 2003. I just took it
out
and drained the gearcase. It was full of water, not milky oil, I mean
pure
water, the end had about a tablespoon of milky oil. I am 100 % sure it
was
full of new clean oil when I put it in the water back in May. There are
200
hours on the engine. I know I should have checked/changed it sooner but
it
is a 31' work boat and hard to remove from water. I pressure checked it
and
no leaks but I have not vacuum tested it as I do not have the pump and
gauge. Anyway dealer is going to cover it under warrantee. Should the
warrantee cover a complete rebuild as the internals are probably
corroded?
Or will they just change the seals?


Hi Mark,
Since it had more water than oil, your dealer should open it up and
inspect
the internals. Chances are the bearings will be pitted or rusty and
probably
grooved a bit from the inadequate lubrication qualities of H2O. If that is
the case, the dealer should turn in for a new g'earcase assembly after
talking with the factory. Was there fishing line around the shaft? Was a
drain screw loose? Was the prop all beat up causing a wobble on the shaft?
The owners manual said that you should change oil every 100 hours and
check
it every 50. Now there are 200 hours on a commercial motor, according to
your post. When you get the new one, your best bet is to institute a more
frequent maintenance interval.

Bill Grannis
service manager




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