115 V4 Yam lower drive

[axolotl]

Hello.
Received your shipment a few days ago, and installed it immediately on my outboard engine. Installation was a bit tiring, since the leg did not want to fit in but stuck 1-2 cm away from its final position.
With a little help, it went in, and had to adjust the gear remote control cable for it to shift properly. Even now it shifts in forward gear and back in neutral OK, but when in reverse it does not go directly in neutral, but produces a slightly grinding noise... I have to put the remote control in forward for just one cm and back to neutral, for the drive to disengage completely.
Any ideas on how to deal with this ?
Oh and a couple of other questions.
1. Filled with AMSOIL marine gear lube for the breaking-in period. Is this OK with you, or would you recommend another gear oil ? The boat is not in the water yet, just tested shifting with the engine on the ear muffs.
2. The water tell tale on the engine was not as strong as in the old lower leg which had a brand new water pump. Should I change the water pump on SEIs legs before installing, or is it a brand new unit ?

Petros
Athens

[admin]

[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']Thanks for purchasing an SEI. A brand new gearcase, whether ours or someone else's usually will not slide fully into place the first time it is installed. This is due to the new rubber bushing for the water tube which is much tighter than one which has been in service for a while. This is why it is recommended to grease the bushing before installation to help the tube slide through. Also, the new alignment dowel pins will sometimes not easily slide into the recesses in the midsection because of corrosion in the midsection. [/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'] The shifting issue you are describing sounds like your shift cables or remote control are worn. Your old unit would have come out of gear fine using them because the unit's clutch dog and the dog teeth on the gears are worn from use. Also, a lower unit will sometimes shift differently while it is on the ear muffs. The load on the propeller from the water causes it to act differently. Be sure to make quick and positive shifts with any lower unit which shifts with a clutch dog. [/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'] Any marine grade gear lube will be fine for the break-in period. I usually use a less expensive conventional lube for break-in, since I will be changed after 10 hours of use. The AMSOIL will be fine.[/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'] The tell tale should discharge at the same rate as your old one, if not stronger. The impeller in the SEI unit is brand new (along with every other part). I would recommend that you pull the gearcase off and check that the watertube entered the bushing in the water pump correctly and did not roll the bushing off into the housing. Remember that you should never crank or run an outboard engine with out the water pump being submerged in water or the ear muffs on and water hose turned on. Not even for a few seconds, or the impeller could be damaged.[/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']Tech Support[/FONT]

[axolotl]

Last weekend, I managed to change the oil in my new drive, after exactly 20 hours of operation and the run-in period went very smoothly without any issues.
The engine has not been operated for more than a week when I did the oil change.
Initially I used Amsoil 75/80W-90 marine gear oil, as I had posted in your forum.
The gear oil came out pitch black (!!) and it had around 30-40 ml of clear water in (!!).

Can you please advise me on how to proceed ?

Regards

[admin]

The first oil change usually does result in some pretty nasty looking oil. The water is a concern. I would remove the gaskets for the plugs and inspect to make sure the gasket area is perfectly smooth. If it is not, that could be the source. Then install new gaskets and then keep an eye on the oil. The water will separate after sitting for awhile, so pull the bottom plug a couple days after running it and see if anywater comes out. If so, then unfortunately you would need to contact the warranty department.

Tech Support

[axolotl]

Hello.
After a lengthy winter away from the sea, I managed to put the boat back into the water and run the engine for about 4 hrs of operation.

I have just changed the oil, and the oil came out of the leg with no visible water contamination. However, once again its colour was dark grey, while the AMSOIL marine gear lube has a light golden yellow colour. Is this considered normal with only 4 hrs of operation ? Would you need me to email you a couple of photos of the used gear lube ?

Thanks for the support

Petros Dimitriou

[admin]

How was the magnet? Any chunks of metal, or just small flakes or powdery looking residue? You may want to consider changing to Quicksilver high performance gear lube. If there is a lot of metal, then something must be going on and I would contact the warranty department.

Tech Support

[axolotl]

Nothing worrisome.
Just some powdery looking residue on the magnet.
Do you suggest to change gear oil to another brand, or what other course of action should I take ?

[admin]

I don't have any experience with amsoil marine gearlube. I would recommend switching to quicksilver high performance gear lube and see if that holds up better. If the oil is looking rough after 5 hours, then you may want to send it in so we can take a look at it.

Tech Support

[axolotl]

Hello there.
I seem to be facing difficulties with my ouboards shifting to reverse.
The engine revs up but is not in gear.
I have already replaced the plastic end of the shift control cable and adjusted it.
This seems to have worked for just a few hours of operation and then the problem reappears. I cannot put the engine in reverse...
Any simple ideas on what other thing to look at ?

Thanks for your support