Perfect timing on this thread... last week the neighbor invited me for a boat ride. Prior to leaving he raised the hatch to check the fluid levels and look in the bilge. There was a sheen of oil down there. Checking confirmed it was transmission fluid.
Pink equals tranny fluid.
In any event he looked at the situation, spotting some wires back by the shaft. When I volunteered a fresh set of eyes he agreed.
This is what I saw:
I recognized this having seen it before. On that boat the shaft was darn near removed from the boat by the wires.
So, we removed the wires and then refilled the tranny. The next day, this:
We ran the engine. She shifted into and out of gear a-okay. There was no transmission fluid on the diaper after running. Still there was that drip and the owner wanted to make sure all was well re the wires/drip, etc.
Well, it's been a week and all the ATF has drained out. We've got a leak. My expertise ended at removing the wires. The drip (I can feel it) appears to be coming from where the shaft enters the transmission. The white transmission has fresh AFT on it.
Here's a better picture of the mess before wire removal:
So, what's next? Remove the coupler? Then? And thanks!