Gear Oil contaminated or not

[MarkD]

My 2001 mercury 25hp - bought new - always had milky looking (now grey) gear lube when I changed it.

I really appreciate your answer, this helps a lot!
Me too, whenever I change the gear oil in my motors (I also have Honda 2 HP) I see some milky stuff in small quantities but I never investigated it before (leaving it in the jar for some time).
I’m still now planning to check/change the oil after several outings and yes, I’ll never leave the old oil in the unit for winter anymore.

[Gregger17]

^^^Bingo! Your better off too drain and leave the bottom end empty rather then leave the old in over the winter. But we always put fresh oil in the fall before storing.


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[MarkD]

Right. I was thinking about it too.
I never felt well to leave oil for 6 months and then use it for another 6 months…
For some reason for the car engine it is recommended to change oil either after a certain mileage or after a period of time, whatever comes first, right?
Anyway, it was my pure stupidity to leave the old oil for winter. I'm happy that it seems OK so far, but I learned my lesson.
Thanks.

[MarkD]

What about this video?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMv-JyLxkks
Watch it from 8:00 Pure water flashing out from the gearbox and then some oil/water mixture, but not emulsion.
Is it real or staged?
Also note that used oil is deep black in color. I first thought that he uses blue colored marine gear oil (available in Canadian Tire) but if you watch how he changed the oil on his first motor (he has two Yamaha 150 HP) you could see that he is pumping in normal honey colored oil.
What is that?

[trimmer21]

What about this video?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMv-JyLxkks
Watch it from 8:00 Pure water flashing out from the gearbox and then some oil/water mixture, but not emulsion.
Is it real or staged?
Also note that used oil is deep black in color. I first thought that he uses blue colored marine gear oil (available in Canadian Tire) but if you watch how he changed the oil on his first motor (he has two Yamaha 150 HP) you could see that he is pumping in normal honey colored oil.
What is that?

That's real,Mark. I've had it happen just like that where the seals were completely broken,the oil leaked out and the lower unit filled with water. There was no mistaking the clanky sound of metal on metal. Changing the seals are easy. Check for excessive metal debris on the magnet plugs,refill with gear lube and you're good to go. The repairs I didn't have the equipment to do on my motor mentioned in post #4 totalled $515.50 PLUS Trudeau taxes at a repair shop. Not as bad as I originally thought,but,still pricey. We have no idea what caused the main shaft bearing to fail. Gear lube level was spot on,seals were good,some things make one wonder.

[MarkD]

Thanks!
For some strange reason, neither of my two motors, Tohatsu 20 HP and Honda 2 HP, have magnetic plugs but just regular bolts.
I checked the old oil in the jar and found two small visible metal (magnetic) pieces, probably not more than 0.5 mm diameter. Probably not a very good sign but hopefully not really bad.
The thing is that I have a quite small, 16’ aluminum utility boat, and I cannot carry additional means of propelling in it, but I usually go several miles of shore (in quiet weather only) in GB and LO for trolling. … So if the motor fails I don’t really know what to do…

[trimmer21]

Thanks!
For some strange reason, neither of my two motors, Tohatsu 20 HP and Honda 2 HP, have magnetic plugs but just regular bolts.
I checked the old oil in the jar and found two small visible metal (magnetic) pieces, probably not more than 0.5 mm diameter. Probably not a very good sign but hopefully not really bad.
The thing is that I have a quite small, 16’ aluminum utility boat, and I cannot carry additional means of propelling in it, but I usually go several miles of shore (in quiet weather only) in GB and LO for trolling. … So if the motor fails I don’t really know what to do…

I have a 24V Motor Guide 45lb thrust mounted at the bow of my old 16' Misty River that weighs a half ton. If it wasn't for that and the batteries charged up,I'd still be paddling. If you're going out on big water,you should really think about hooking one up. They can save a lot of aggravation in a pinch. Besides,they're worth gold navigating shallow marshes.

[MarkD]

Yes, I was thinking about something like that for a while… Still thinking.
Thanks for the suggestion!

[longpointer]

Chances are the lower end shouldn't pack it in as you have changed the gear oil before going out. Even if a bit of water gets in you should still be okay because many of us find milky oil come the end of the year but yet the motor ran fine until it was time to be put to bed for the winter.

I run approx. the same type of rig you have but for duck hunting and invested in a handheld waterproof VHF radio as a "just in case" . Cellphones are not always dependable but my Uniden Voyager always did plus it had the Marine Weather channel on it too. Ideally/legally you should get the Operators Licence to use it but it's not against the law to own and "listen in" to one. I would advise reading up on how to use it properly as there is special terminology ( Pan, Pan vs. Mayday, Mayday) and phonetics ( A=Alpha, B=Bravo) involved.

[MarkD]

Thank you very much! That's a good idea too.