Water in gear oil?

[Beaver77]

Hello, I have a 1.5 year old tohatsu 20hp with 50 hours on it….first service done by dealer now I am doing it….does this gear oil look like it has water in it? I don’t know what brand they put in so I don’t know what color it started as….there are a few bigger bubbles in it from water dripping off the motor into the pan….I have changed gear oil in other boats before but it was always the greenish blackish stuff….this gear oil is a year old with maybe 20 hours of use….I ran the motor 12 hours ago…thanks

 

[rgano]

Looks like emulsified oil caused by water to me.

 

[jgwinks]

Yeah that's water. Most likely the prop shaft seal is bad, all it takes is a piece of fishing line caught in it. Happens all the time and you can't tell from the outside. Could also be one of the drain/fill screws or upper shaft seal but not as likely. New gear oil looks like motor oil but thicker, it's 80-90 wgt. And it smells really bad, that's normal.
Up here in Michigan we have to be careful not to let a motor freeze up until we've at least checked the gear oil, if there's water it can blow the sides out of the gear case.

 

[diver dave]

Water for sure. That young I would not expect seal wear; so the fishing line story is very valid. A miti vac system should work well to prove integrity.

 

[fgarriso]

Take it to your local authorized dealer for service.

 

[PM]

It's water, but don't panic a little water in the lower unit is not fatal. It should be repaired but probably half the older lower units out there have water in them.

pete