Bravo Drain Plug Leaking
 

My lower drain/fill plug on my bravo drive is leaking. I changed the gasket, made sure the old one was out, and its still leaking. I guess the only thing left to try is to put a new plug in it and hope that fixes it. Anyone had this problem or any suggestions?

Had the same problem on a drive I R&R'ed this winter... The plug was fine, I helicoiled the carrier but didn't want to take a chance so I wound up replacing it with a new carrier.

When you say carrier, do you mean the entire gear housing? Not sure what the carrier is.

the propshaft carrier, it is the aluminim piece that's held in place by the spanner nut behind your prop on your lower gear housing. I believe it costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 and comes with new seals and you would need to swap over the bearing race.

http://www.mercruiserparts.com/showS...asp?pn=41641A8

How's replacing that going to stop oil from leaking out around the drain plug? Is that what the plug actually screws into?

Yes, it screws into the carrier. Try replacing the plug first but if it doesn't stop I'd suspect the carrier threads being shot.

If he has a 1988 bravo the drain plug is in the bullet not the carrier.

You need to figure out a way to put 15psi air pressure to the bravo and see where the leak is for sure. If it is still the drain plug I would examine closely the thread, plug and gasket surface.

BT

that is correct. lets us know what drive you have.

also, do you have a drive resevior?

Geronimo- Lay off the peace pipe. He already mentioned he had a Bravo drive. He's talking drain plug and your talking spanner nut.
Proceed to do what Blue Thunder suggests.

the reason he asked if it had a drive res. was to tell if it was the early drive, if i remember right the 1988 model bravo did not have a res. and if the threads on the carrier that the drain plug screws into get worn and loose on the second version drive then it will leak at the plug. west marine carries a thicker gasket for the drain plugs you might try that

Not sure the exact year of the drive. If I had to guess without checking the numbers I'd say it is something around an 88 as is the boat. There is no resevoir. Guess the next step would be to drain the oil and take a good look at where the gasket is supposed to be seating. If all appears ok, I'll try a new plug and maybe that larger gasket that west marine carrys. Threads seem to be good and tight. Not stripped or anything. I'm just getting a little leak around the plug when I have the plug in as tight as i can get it.

Your response shows you really don't know what you're talking about. Read H2X response and go back to school cause you have no idea what you're talking about. I used to be a merc. service tech........ :eek:

Is your plug on the side of the lower case or below the propshaft? It sounds like you have the old drive.

It's not a permanent fix but you can also try wrapping the plug with teflon tape, sometimes that can help. I even saw a customer marine tex a plug in once but I wouldn't recommend that.

Let us know how you make out.

The plug is below the prop shaft on an angle. Almost at the lowest point before the skeg.

any luck getting it sealed up?

Be Careful.
 

Using a thicker gasket might fix it but it will also cause the plug to have less threads on which to tighten. There's only 3-3 1/2 threads holding it in as it is by the time you use a regular gasket..

I tried this once and didn't like how it felt but it's obviously your call.

I have had the same nagging problem on my bravo's. I took some sandpaper and wraped it around the eraser of a pencil and then put the pencil in my drill. Carefully insert the eraser and spin the drill to smooth the mating surface of the gasket. Mine had small scratches that was causing it to leak. Smoothing it out and using a new gasket solved the problem. Hope it helps.
MB

I haven't got around to looking at it yet, thanks to work and a 7month old, but plan on doing it in the morning. I'm hoping that when I get the oil drained out and can take a good look at the surface that the gasket seals against, it'll be something simple. Seems simple: gasket must sit flat against both the carrier surface and plug head. I have my fingers crossed cause I'm planning on having it fixed before the weekend. Thanks for all the input. I'll definetly let everyone know how I make out.

That seems to have fixed it. So Far! Gotta check it in a few days, but I'm pretty sure that did it. Must have been the the threads on the old plug cause both surfaces seemed ok, but the new plug went in alot smoother. I think it was cross threaded at some point and fouled the threads on the plug, forcing it to go in on an angle everytime. The new plugs come with a rubber gasket vs. the older felt ones. Once again thanks for all the feedback. I'm sure I'll be asking for help again in the future. Thats the joys of boating.

B-bring
O-out
A-another
T-thousand