Leaking prop shaft seal

[John F]

Help;I just went into the garage and found a puddle of oil under my prop.I have a Merc. Opti. 200 .How much trouble am I in for?Is it a major job to fix it?How much time and cost are we looking at.I'm in a tourament in three weeks and I'm hoping for good news.Any info would be greatly appreciated.Please don't bash my choice of motor. Thank you

[ebijack]

first, are you sure it's coming from around the prop..remove the prop and double check. any quality shop should be able to get you in and out with-in 2 days max if there not swamped being the start of the fishing season. it might be from your drain plug, or oil can come out (forced out) of the water intake holes if your lowerunit is leaking bad enough that it's filled with water/oil mix. i'd also drain the lower unit to see if you get water out, and how much. water will come out first..oil mainly floats on top of water. sure hope your lower unit wasn't full with water over the winter....
start there, hope that helps

[REW]

Can you tell what kind of oil it is?
i.e. is it lower unit oil, or is it injector, or fogging oil. Many folks come out and look out their garage floor after not using their motor for a bit, and find oil. Many cases, it is simply, a. either fogging oil, or b. injector oil. Remember, the exhaust comes out through the lower unit. If the motor hasn't been used for a bit, the engine will often let the surplus injector oil, and or fogging oil, that might have been sitting in the cylinders to drain down the exhaust pipe, through the prop, and onto the floor.

If it is lower unit oil, the first thing to check is the drain plug. Many folks change the lower unit oil, and either drop or have the sealing washer get damaged. Then when the drain plug is tightened (sometimes not tight enough) the lower unit leaks oil from around the plug.

Before doing anything, look over the lower unit with a magnifing glass, and see if you can trace the path of the oil. i.e. is it coming from the drain plug, the prop seal or ??

If the prop seal is the problem, when you open the drain plug, it is likely that you will either drain out some water, or the oil will be milky colored. If this is the case, you certainly need to replace the prop seal. If this is the case, the quickest way to get it done at this time of the year, and have a good job done, is to pull the lower unit yourself. Then simply drop the lower unit off at the dealer, and they can change the seal and pressure and vacuum test the lower unit. You pick it up and pop it back on your engine. By doing it this way, you save about $100 in labor, and is probably the difference in getting the seal replaced in the next three weeks or not - if this is your problem.

In general, the only way that you might have lost a seal, on a relatively new engine, is with the use of fishing line getting wrapped around the engine shaft, and cutting out the seal. To check for this, pull the prop, and look very carefully around the prop shaft for any sign of line, weeds, etc. If you do find an amount of line or other items which might have cut out the seal, it is quite likely that you do need a replacement.

If your engine is 3-5 years old or older - and you are replacing the prop shaft seal, it is a good idea to replace the water pump impeller, and upper seals in the lower unit at the same time. With the lower unit off the engine, this is only about a 5 minute job, and the parts cost are typically less than $50.

Good luck and good luck in your upcoming fishing tournement.

Take care
REW

[John F]

Thanks to both of your replies.The oil has no gas smell like when my kicker motor was new and running on a higher percent of oil.Its not coming from the drain plugs either.I guess I'll be seeing my dealer sooner than I would have wanted to. thanks again