Haven’t had a chance to check pressure yet... planning to do it tho.

Thx for drive repair shops. Seems like it would $$$ to just ship the drive ( packing it couldn’t be fun either ). If no good local guy, I’d consider it. But, I find it hard to believe, although not impossible, that there’s no one on Long Island who’s worthy.

I have a friend that owned a marina on LI up till about a year ago. I just contacted him and he couldn't recommend anyone else other than the guy i recommended that retired. Unbelievable

so you want someone who is the best of the best...yet you don’t want to pay for shipping? and you don’t want to package it?

Got it.

Under psi - thx, that’s what I’m starting to figure out...

Moses - the leader of people - stay positive with me brother. I’m trying to assess if there’s any option local to me. It’s all part of the process. Not sure where you’re from, but ‘ I live on an island ’... I live on the shore of the island, completely surrounded by water. Boating is a way of life; fishing, beaching, surfing etc. Boating is a huge industry here. The fact that there’s not any excellent out drive guy on The Island, is shocking. But, I’m learning it’s a fact !

So, there’s a damn good chance I’ll be packing and shipping my drive. I didn’t blow anything and for all I know, it’s an adjustment. Very expensive to pack, ship... for an adjustment...

Can you dig it ?

You say that after your repair guy ,retorqued, the upper pinion bearings it feels gritty when you turn the shaft by hand,, and paint is blistered on top of the drive,, the drive needs to be taken apart ,,upper pinion gear bearings for sure need to be replaced,, they should never feel gritty when turned ,,they are damaged,,worn out, etc.,,,and the paint on top should not be blistered,, in my opinion,, the entire drive should be torn down, replace bearings as needed,,retorque the bearings,and shim the gears to Merc. specs.,,

253 - I'm leaning in that direction.

For lack of a better way of explaining and lack of drive experience ( I maintain it - it works ) - when I turn the yoke/ universal, out of gear, I feel the friction of the bearings spinning. As if they are too tight. With 1100 hours, I don't disagree with the possibility that she might need a tear down, inspection and rebuild. But, then again, it might be something simple like just re-pre-loading the gears up top - or replacing the gears and re-loading. My old mechanic (*), only 100-120 hours ago, replaced the universal joint assembly, inspected and re-used the bearings - and pre-loaded the assembly. My recollection is that's when I remember seeing blistering on the top housing of the drive - and around when the oil started to come out of the oil reservoir. I rarely go over 3200 RPM's so the drive never got that hot for the oil to heat and expand. However, when I do go over the 3200 RPM's say over 4000, for even a short time, I see the oil start to rise in the reservoir and it eventually will spill over.

I'm really surprised that there's not a guy who the LI marine community could recommend. That's sad. I know a lot of hacks out there in every industry and avoid them like the plague. Trying to do the same here.

Once I've exhausted the LI option, or even New Jersey, or Connecticut, again - very salty, coastal places, I will be forced to ship and will not hesitate to do so.

(*) he has become way too flaky and not an option.

I would try a new cap before you do anything. There have been similar issues posted on here that ended up being a bad cap.

Okay, the blistering paint is definitely a warning sign, but before you start major disassembly I have to ask one thing..

Are you 100% sure you don't have air trapped in the drive upper? If you do, it will burp out a ton of lube thru the reservoir over and over again as the air warms and expands (lube doesn't really expand a whole lot until it boils at 500+ degrees). There's only one foolproof way to make sure...

On the trailer or lift, remove the reservoir cap and drain most of the lube out of the drive (or all of it). Then you have to fill the drive FROM THE BOTTOM with the drive trimmed fully "in" until the reservoir shows proper level. From that point forward, as long as the reservoir level never drops below the bottom of the bottle you can monitor and add lube without worry of air. But if the level DOES drop enough for any chance of air to get in the drive you'll struggle forever to get it back out.

There are pumps with a hose and screw in fitting for the drain hole on the lower. The best ones to use have a lever. The ones that you push down like a lotion dispenser will tire you out horribly..

If you start with zero air in your drive, it shouldn't puke lube into your bilge EVEN IF IT DOES OVERHEAT.

M

Resetting the used bearings to a higher preload is a NO NO. They end up with to much preload and will run hot.

O'KAY!
On one hand - I feel like a horse's A$$. On the other, I'm relieved, and if I had another hand, I'm still concerned...

Finally ran a pressure test on my lower unit oil reservoir. Put 5 PSI in. It leaked and bubbled slowly out of the cap seal. Tested a new reservoir - no leak. I know, I know... I should have tested this right away. So, I replaced the reservoir.

I deserve to be chastised a bit here. I deserve it. However, I still don't like that the paint on the top of the lower unit is blistering and feel that I should have at least the pre-load checked if not R/R bearings and re-do pre-load. I