Bravo mystery oil disapperance
07-10-2022 | 10:03 AM
#11
Thread Starter
*
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,027
Likes: 138
From: PortRoyal Bermuda
First what are you calling to spec? Second oil does not disappear . It went somewhere like an Air void. You stated you filled it from the bottom plug with the top plug in. Should be filled with the top plug out till it makes a mess then the top plug reinstalled then filler her up by continuing to pump. Just a small amount of sludge that did not let all oil out can create an air pocket with old oil above it.. Making you think it is full. Try draining the oil/fluid out, put the plugs back in and cap on and let it sit in the sun for a couple hours. Then pull the plugs back out. you might be surprised how much will then drain out that was trapped. Just Ideas for you. I had one I thought was perfect for a month. Hit a big wave and then I felt a small vibration. Was 100 yards from island so just went at idle to the island. Checked fluid bottle and it was very low but alarm was not going off. Filled bottle up and left a couple hours later. Idle for 5 min then took off and no more vibration. At the dock I did notice bottle had dropped slightly. I was still nervous about it so I drained and refilled with procedure above. 6 months now and no problems. I also now make sure drive is level and trim up and down a couple times to make sure all oil is out. I obviously had enough air to empty the bottle. Mine takes almost 2 quarts. Dont even have enough left in the second quart to feel comfortable leaving the dock..
Chris
Chris
And the unit is cycled up and down (and left down) while we wait for the level to stabilize.
Changing oils in lower units is nothing new , I've only been doing it for 50 years now and for 22 with a B unit. I've just never seen this much oil disappear without a trace after the unit was filled the correct way and left to settle and then topped off afterwards . I admit that trapped air would be the first suspect .
07-10-2022 | 11:25 AM
#13
Thread Starter
*
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,027
Likes: 138
From: PortRoyal Bermuda
That will happen now that it's in the shop , but no word on it yet .
But TBH I was a little skeptical of the pressure test tool . I've never seen one like it before and it looked more like a gimmick to me. I believe the mechanic had it because it was easy to transport (mobile job) but has a better one in the shop .
But TBH I was a little skeptical of the pressure test tool . I've never seen one like it before and it looked more like a gimmick to me. I believe the mechanic had it because it was easy to transport (mobile job) but has a better one in the shop .
07-10-2022 | 11:33 AM
#14
Registered
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 1,026
Likes: 225
From: Ohio
That will happen now that it's in the shop , but no word on it yet .
But TBH I was a little skeptical of the pressure test tool . I've never seen one like it before and it looked more like a gimmick to me. I believe the mechanic had it because it was easy to transport (mobile job) but has a better one in the shop .
But TBH I was a little skeptical of the pressure test tool . I've never seen one like it before and it looked more like a gimmick to me. I believe the mechanic had it because it was easy to transport (mobile job) but has a better one in the shop .
07-10-2022 | 12:33 PM
#15
Thread Starter
*
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,027
Likes: 138
From: PortRoyal Bermuda
Yes. The idea was to first determine if there was any pressure drop as it was and it was then turned upside down once off the boat and pressurized to see if we could see any sign of oil leakage out of the top seal even though the U joint bellow was dry.
I have to admit that under normal circumstances this would seem like a simple case of air trapped in the upper unit and the reservoir bottle emptying to make up for it . Hopefully what I've said above will demonstrate why I'm (and the mechanic is ) skeptical about that .
I have to admit that under normal circumstances this would seem like a simple case of air trapped in the upper unit and the reservoir bottle emptying to make up for it . Hopefully what I've said above will demonstrate why I'm (and the mechanic is ) skeptical about that .
07-17-2022 | 10:47 AM
#17
Thread Starter
*
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,027
Likes: 138
From: PortRoyal Bermuda
^^^^
That may be true but this one was never a leaker , at least not for the last 20 years.
For anyone new perusing this the boat was at least 2.5 years into it's storage layup and the reservoir bottle level was just fine .
Switch to a B1 ? We had that option when doing the new repower , just love the handling characteristics of the B3 too much . I've actually got a (Volvo) D/P on my other boat as well.
That may be true but this one was never a leaker , at least not for the last 20 years.
For anyone new perusing this the boat was at least 2.5 years into it's storage layup and the reservoir bottle level was just fine .
Switch to a B1 ? We had that option when doing the new repower , just love the handling characteristics of the B3 too much . I've actually got a (Volvo) D/P on my other boat as well.
