Normal?
 

Just put my new bravo x on yesterday and took it to the water, seems to be good so far but I noticed while watching the drive reservoir the drive oil would fill up about 1 1/2" to 2" in the reservoir and then empty back out once I slowed down. I know the fluids expand and expect fluid in the res. but I just want to double check with you guys to see if that is a normal level of fluid?.?.

did you fill it from the bottom, if not she might have air pockets, or you missed an o-ring.

That is way too much expansion and not normal.

Mine does the same thing. See my post about leak proof caps. Mine had about 365 hours on it when I got it and has 425 now. The port does it more than star. I think I will go ahead with larger drive fluid reservoir bottles. Bill

Its brand new from Victory Marine, they are who filled the drive before I picked it up. My reservoir is one of the small 6oz clear tube type from CP Performance and not the stock square merc one so could it just look like more fluid being in a smaller container?

My drives did it before and after drive service, so I do not think it is "fill" related. It would not be an issue if the reservoir bottles were larger, but mine spill out into the bilge. My bottles are the small square factory ones and are only filled to the min. line.

I hear ya. Like I posted I have the small 6oz clear tube style bottle and maybe it just looks like its expanding a lot bc the small container. My last drive that just went out causing me to purchase this one apparently had air in it and was running hot bc the fluid blew out of the bottle all down the transom and reeked of burnt gear oil. This one is brand new and was filled by Victory Marine so Im sure they knew how to fill it. But as always with something new and after reading all the post it has me worried something catastrophic is on the horizon ahead for me!!! Sick feeling when you are worried and stressed every time you go to the water and cant relax and enjoy the day.

antknee,
One thing you could do, is to remove the top fill plug and see if oil runs out. There should be a bit of flow and an air space above the the fill plug. The drive should not be completely filled. Once you have established the level is correct, the drive bottle should find it's own level and not fluctuate very much. That is normal operation. Unless the drive is getting hot to create the excessive expansion. It may also be due to the small bottle. So keep an eye on it. The drive is tight because it is new. It should loosen up after 10 hrs or so of running.
Also have you run the boat some and slowed down to dunk the drive and cool it.. What happens to the fluid level? If it goes up and down, it could be a heat issue. Or with the small bottle, it could be considered normal?? Keep an eye on it, and see what trend it shows you..

Hope that helps.
Dick

I opened the top fill plug, a good amount of fluid is coming out, question now is how much do I let out?

Fixx
 

as little as possible,it will only fill back up from the resivour..