How to Change Mercruiser Gear Oil (Alpha Outdrive)
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- In this video, I do my yearly maintenance gear lube change. Its good practice to take care of this before the winter freeze in case water has contaminated your drive oil. This fresh oil will sit in the outdrive all winter and be ready for you in the spring with no risk of freezing. This procedure is demonstrated on an Alpha One Gen 2 outdrive but the procedure is very similar on an Alpha One Gen 1. I hope you found this video helpful!
To purchase the gear oil used in this video (non-Walmart stuff):
Mercrusier Brand: amzn.to/3pg3vrG
Quicksilver Brand with pump: amzn.to/3Jm5pOw
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#Mercruiser #boatDIY #AlphaOne
Mercruiser recommends pumping all oil in through the bottom drain plug. When oil begins to come out of the vent cap, Mercruiser advises to install the vent plug and keep pumping oil in through the drain plug unit the oil level in the reservoir begins to rise. This is to ensure there is no air lock preventing gears from being lubricated.
There is no air lock when following this method.
why not just fill it from the top hole? air get trapped?
@@JohnnyAnderson1 the transfer hole between top cavity and bottom cavity is relatively small. Because of this, if you were to fill from the top down only it would take a week for all the bubbles to rise up and let the fluid fall down. This way takes care of all that and also is Mercruisers preferred procedure. 👍
@@605BOLT thanks, I figured it was something like that.
Guess I'll be ordering that fill tube
@@JohnnyAnderson1 makes pretty quick work of it.
Thanks extremly through,great stuff.
@@FLINTSTONES45 you're welcome. Happy boating!
The plug with the magnet is supposed to go in the lower position to collect and metal in the oil. Also, the top vent plug should be removed first because if for some reason you can't remove it, you would not want to proceed with the bottom plug until such time as you can get the top plug out. I'm no expert but I have gotten these tips from watching many other videos as well as maintaining my own boat.
Fine points. Yes, magnet plug on the bottom. Mine were switched and I don't know why. You're right it would be best practice to remove the top plug first (I mentioned this only briefly in the video) although I've more heard this tip applied to automotive differentials which can be massively rusty and screwed up as opposed to marine outdrives. The beauty of these plugs is they area always coated with gear lube when installed so its very difficult to have them seize up or be tough to remove. They're almost always easy to get out. But great points for sure. Thanks for commenting!!
@@605BOLT This answers my question above, thanks in advance!!
Good deal thanks for watching and commenting!
Hey there, thanks for sharing.
Wondering about the look of the oil?
It looked milky coming out but you said "I consider this to be normal".
If it doesn't look like the new oil going in then doesn't that mean its being contaminated with water. You may have a leaky seal somewhere. Did you do the pressure test you recommended in the video? Any leaks?
I'm curious because my oil drained out looking similar to yours and I thought that means water getting into the oil.
Both my vent and drain plug seals were toast though so I'm wondering if that may be the cause for me?
Have you ever redone your impeller I think I'm going to do mine in the spring. I think I am going to remove the entire outdrive and check out all the seals I can including the bellows. Good insurance before putting it back into the water.
Thanks again for sharing your maintenance it really helps out people like me trying to save some $$$ and do it myself.
Cheers
@@IS-217 yes technically there is some water getting in there to make that milky white vs brand new but if there is a lot of water in there it will come out first and be separated from the oil. A couple drops of fresh water intrusion is not worth the full tear apart job just to fix it. My boat is a 1995 so it's just a beer drinking boat. If you're making runs across the Gulf of Mexico, better have a closer look. For me, the juice isn't worth the squeeze. I change the oil regularly so it's going to be just fine. Also, mine does pass pressure test still so it isn't a crazy leak. I have done an impeller, water pump, carrier seal among others so it's had the full going through rather recently. Probably getting ready to have it done again. We'll just see. Removing to check bellows definitely a good idea. Many people do it yearly. Mine is stored on a trailer so not a lot of risk of water getting into it or sinking. Thanks for your kind comment. 🙏
@@605BOLT Thanks for the information, I have the Alpha one gen one in a 1991 Bayliner. When I took out the drain plugs the one with the magnet was on the bottom drain hole. Do you think they were put in correctly or maybe they were backwards?
Ya previous owner probably messed mine up. Magnet on the bottom is correct.
Thanks for the video. Is one quart enough to do the job?
@@dwarshow no. 2 I think at least. I dont remember for sure. I always keep a few on hand. No more than 3.
So just this then top off reservoir? I have an alpha 1 gen 2 also
Yes. Fill from the bottom, then fill from the top hole til you see it in the reservoir, then top of the reservoir. Then check back in a day or two or after a few miles to make sure it is right on and no air bubbles came out.
Your plugs are in wrong spot. Magnetic 1 goes in lower unit
They're currently switched.
Anyone ever have a problem with oil leaking from the oil vent? I checked it and it is tight but still leaking. Odd. Wondering if there is a missing rubber seal or something?
@@jrmhrpr yes definitely possible. Worth the fifty cents to change it just to see. Those usually seal up real nice with a fresh seal. I've seen some people mistakenly put a new one on when the old one is still sticking to the outdrive so maybe check to be sure you don't have them stacked or the one you have is torn maybe. Should sit nice and flush.
@@605BOLT Very cool, thanks so much for the quick response! I'll give that a shot tomorrow. There is no seal on it at all.
@@jrmhrpr oh ya then you gotta get one of those bad boys. Easy fix.
has anyone replaced teh reservoir? Mine is leaking
@@JDutchman I haven't replaced mine but I have removed it at one point. Pretty easy really.