Drive gear lube; how often do you replace?

[Donzi LG]

Just wondering how often everyone changes their drive gear lube oil. I've been doing it in every fall winterization but wonder if that's necessary. :confused:

John

[smbarcelow]

I plan to replace mine every fall, too. I've only winterized it once so far. It's cheap insurance. Having said that, I regularly put 7,500 miles or so on my Grand Am's engine oil between oil changes. I've got 180K miles on the odometer and she doesn't burn oil. In my Firebird, however, I change the oil once a year, even though it typically only gets a couple hundred miles on it. I do that at the beginning of the driving season, same as motor oil in the boat.

[MOP]

I was in the biz for many years and kept extremely good records of my clients hours, repairs etc. We changed the gear & engine oils every fall during winterization, Gear oil even on high hour boats stayed very clean and clear unless there is a problem. But that does not mean the oil is not breaking down, like said above it is cheap insurance and it gives you an indication of what may be going on in the drive.

[penbroke]

Just wondering how often everyone changes their drive gear lube oil. I've been doing it in every fall winterization but wonder if that's necessary. :confused:
John

Yes it is. If there is any water in the drive oil from a worn seal it will freeze and expand with great force. I have seen lowers blown apart from a small amount of water. Changing the oil is a cheap way to prevent this and you don't want your lower gears/bearings rusting in the off season...


Frank

[Trueser]

I changed the oil on the 28 after 30 hours. This may also depend how hard you run things.

[osur866]

I change the engine oil and drive oil at the same time every 25 hrs. of use, probably over kill but if your driving a Donzi your probably not driving it like your dads runabout :wink:. Steve

[roadtrip se]

20-25 on the engine. 40-50 on the gear lube. This keeps me on the annual schedule, just like others have mentioned here. Stuff usually looks brand new draining out.

[Donzi LG]

Cool, thanks for the replies everyone! Sounds like I've been correct in changing each season. I'm still getting a feel for now often certain maintenance items need to be done.

[Brian41]

I have a customer with a 32 foot offshore with 650 HP twins and Bravo drives that logs over 250 hours a year and runs it hard but only changes the drive fluid once a year. The drives are from 1992 and have never had an issue and oil only has slight color when changing. I also only change mine once a year with 670 Hp and 525 hours on drives. I replace a bent prop shaft this year and gears looked new so I will stick with schedule we are on.

[smbarcelow]

Anybody care to weigh in with their preferred product? I used Quicksilver gear lube on the last change. I don't remember if it was Premium or High Performance.

(As for engine oil, I used Valvoline Racing 40W.)

[RedDog]

Anybody care to weigh in with their preferred product? I used Quicksilver gear lube on the last change. I don't remember if it was Premium or High Performance.

(As for engine oil, I used Valvoline Racing 40W.)

Good choice on engine oil. As for the drive, be sure to use the Hi-Performance oil rather than the other. I'm sure some other brands are good as well

[CHACHI]

[quote=smbarcelow;465159]Anybody care to weigh in with their preferred product?

Wouldn't you rather talk politics?

Ken

[smbarcelow]

Wouldn't you rather talk politics?

Point taken...religion and politics are probably safer subjects. :yes:

[chappy]

Pretty much the same as mentioned above. Every fall it's drained and re-filled. I only run 20-30 hours per season, but it's still cheap insurance. Good observation above Minxguy.:yes:

[harbormaster]

I would not use anything BUT Merc Hi Peformance gear Lube.. Its sticky and holds onto the gear surfaces. Its good to change it regularly even if it looks good because it tend to lose its ability to stick to tooth surfaces and wear starts to pick up. I had a customer who used red-line gear lube and it really stunk up the whole shop when we opened up. It burned right up.

[glashole]

I am running a blackhawk outdrive and therefore try to be extra serious when it comes to maintenance :nilly:

I change the drive oil every time I change the oil which is about every 15-20 hours

might be overkill but I generally run around 4000 rpms whenever I am running and the oil seems to look like it needs to be changed at that time

I run merc high performance gear oil

[CHACHI]

Good observation above Minxguy.:yes:[/quote]

Thanks, believe it or not, some things are even obvious to me.

Ken

[kramsay1234]

What would be considered "normal" oil loss or usage by the engine between oil changes? I can definitely see a drop on the stick from the beginning to the end of the season.

[blackhawk]

What would be considered "normal" oil loss or usage by the engine between oil changes? I can definitely see a drop on the stick from the beginning to the end of the season.

Many 502s burn oil because of the low tension rings. I would say that a quart every 15-20 hours would be considered "normal", maybe even more.

I change my engine oil every 20 hours and the drive oil every 40. I use Merc 25-40 and high perf gear lube.

The color of engine oil and gear lube means NOTHING.

[Pismo]

I have been changing drive oil every spring so about 40-50hours. I think I will switch to every other spring. The oil is absolutely clean without a spec of anything in it so I don't need so much. I am a cruiser anyhow, not a wide open guy.

[The Hedgehog]

I do the lower on my X (383 mag w Bravo I). I could see doing it even less but it keeps it on a good cycle and I know that there is no moisture in the drive.

The big dog gets the drive oil changed every 10 hours. That is probably more for monitoring but keeps it on the same cycle as the engine oil change. The engine oil most certainly needs to be changed every 10 hours on the beast.

What is the lesson here? It probably costs the same to maintain one moster engine as it does to lower power engines. Regrets...none! And when you hear it you will know.

[Last Real Texan]

20 hours max same as engine




Tex

[f_inscreenname]

I’m feeling guilty. It’s been two seasons for my Volvo. Just did it this past weekend. Now Volvo’s call for engine oil so I use the Rotella in it but I always add a good squirt of Lucas.
But back to the fall oil change. Aren’t you all worried about condensation build up over the winter?

[Air 22]

Many 502s burn oil because of the low tension rings. I would say that a quart every 15-20 hours would be considered "normal", maybe even more.
I change my engine oil every 20 hours and the drive oil every 40. I use Merc 25-40 and high perf gear lube.
The color of engine oil and gear lube means NOTHING.



I'm with ya on everything:) except....Wouldn't engine oil that is milky-coffee colored mean something??:confused: :eek!:
Been their done that w/ my old and now replaced 454Mag:smash::hangum:

[osur866]

merc 25-40 sync blend in engine, merc hi-perf gear lube in the drive

[CHACHI]

The color of engine oil and gear lube means NOTHING.[/quote]

If the color of your engine oil ISN'T getting darker the more you use it, the oil is not doing it's job.
Oil gets darker from suspended contaminates that are too small for the filter to remove. If the oil is not holding these particulates in suspension then these particulate are "falling' out of suspension and plating out on horizontal surfaces. They are not being removed when you drain your oil.

The longer you run an engine oil, the darker it should get.

Ken

[smbarcelow]

The color of engine oil and gear lube means NOTHING.

My understanding of why this was said was to make the point that oil that looks good shouldn't be misunderstood to be good. I don't believe it was said to imply that the color of the oil imparts no useful information.

[Conquistador_del_mar]

I pull the drain plug (front drain) while the drive is slightly up before every outing to make sure there is no water in the gearcase as well as check the magnet for debris. I change the fluid every 10 hours or so in my Eliminator, but much less frequently in my fishing boat. I have used Synergyn Syngear II for years in my Bravo, 200HP Johnson outboard, and my performance car rear ends. It is pricey, but I have never had anything let go since starting to use it. A friend of mine kept blowing up his Bravo drives (even with the Bravo Shop heavy duty gears) with his 1200HP blower engine in an American Offshore until he switched to Syngear. At almost $250 for a 5 gallon bucket, it is a little pricey - but worth it. Bill

[blackhawk]

My understanding of why this was said was to make the point that oil that looks good shouldn't be misunderstood to be good. I don't believe it was said to imply that the color of the oil imparts no useful information.

Exactly, just because oil "looks" clean doesn't mean it shouldn't be changed and just because oil "looks" dark/dirty doesn't mean it should be. Many times oil will get dark quickly but that doesn't mean it's not lubricating properly.

Now milky/contaminated oil is a whole different story!

[Pismo]

How hard you drive, what weight boat, what power all make a big difference. My little family runabout that weighed 2500lbs with a 305 never got a drive lube change until it was 15 years old. It made no difference, never had a problem. Big boat, big engine, better be frequent.

[DonziJon]

This thread actually reminded me to go buy some Merc Hi Performance + Drive Lube. $15.58/quart. Oooff. No problem though. It's usually only once a year.

Depends on the COLOR of the lube when I check it. I use a white plastic "Wire Tie"......one of those zippy thingys. I bend the pointed end over at about a 30 degree angle, pull the upper inspection plug an insert the pointed end in the hole. You can check the lube Level AND the Color. The Color is the most important thing to me.

What you want to see is "Clean..Clear and Green"....on the wire tie. Like it was when you pumped it in. If it's milky/coffee colored, you probably have some moisture. Not the best sign but certainly NOT an emergency. HOW Milkey is the determinent. If it's of some degree of milkey, drain it and refill with new lube. Check it again in 10-15 hours. Use descretion.

I just changed the lube in my Brand New Alpha I at 7.7 hours of moderate use before heading up to the Lake. John

[TheFees]

Maybe someone can help me out on this one. I have been changing my outdrive using Merc Hi Performance in the fall. I also change the engine oil at the same time using Merc oil. Someone told me that it is best to change the engine oil in the fall because the "acids" that build up in the oil from use can have a derogatory affect on the internal parts. Is that bunk or true? Your input is appreciated.