Oil at foot

FLWhaler

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Noticed oil coming from the seam down near the foot. Where would this be coming from??



Engine oil2.jpg
 

wspitler

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What engine? Two or four stroke, big difference in possibilities
 

seasick

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Its hard to tell from that photo what is going on. At some point in time the leading edge of the anti-ventilation plate too some sort of serious hit to break resulting in the missing section. That may have cracked the gear case. As mentioned, the engine model type will help a bit in diagnosing.
Personally, the first thing I would do is drain the lower unit into a clean container and look for two things; water in the oil and/or very little oil. That lower unit probably takes a bit over a quart to fill and you should be able drain out about a quart.

I also can't tell where the oil is coming from; down the forward edge of the LU from up higher or local to a specific area.
When do you see the oil? Does it drip and if so under waht conditions ( running, tilted down, tilted up, after tilting etc.
 

FLWhaler

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It's a Yamaha 225 year 2003. I drew the yellow line to show there was no oil above the area. Only coming from the seam. Yes the previous owner hit something but no damage besides what you see there. It's been that way for a number of years.
 

seasick

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That seam is the mating area between the gear casing/water pump and the midsection. If the lower unit has water intrusion the oil will mix and may overflow into that are and seep out.
It is possible that the oil drained down from the power head oil pan into the midsection and into the water pump area. That may be a sign of the corrosion issue or a bad drive shaft seal.
Have you checked the power head oil level and has the motor needed oil added.

Again, I feel that checking the oil in the lower unit is required to see if there is a bad seal.
 

FLWhaler

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If there is oil in the lower unit it should appear milky correct? No oil has needed to be added but I haven't ran it hardly.
 

wspitler

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If that is an F225 model (4 stroke) and the year and, if the exhaust kit has not been installed previously, you should suspect exhaust corrosion that may have compromised the oil pan. My guess, worst case, is that is engine oil. You may be able to tell by the viscosity and smell. Lower unit oil has a different smell and is thicker. I have seen that exact thing on an F250 and it was coming from the engine. If you are lucky and it is coming from above, maybe it is just a driveshaft seal. Good Luck and let us know the outcome. Monitor you engine oil closely, a small leak may take a while to show a loss in quantity, particularly in those engines which can have a tendency to "make oil."
 

FLWhaler

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F225 model (4 stroke) I'll keep posted.
 

seasick

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If there is oil in the lower unit it should appear milky correct? No oil has needed to be added but I haven't ran it hardly.
No, if there is some water in the LU you will see white to creamy streaks in the oil or as I had recently liquid that looked like cream of mushroom soup. Not a good sign:)
 

wbdenamur

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F225 model (4 stroke) I'll keep posted.
I had 2003 F225s on my Marlin. I dropped both lower units and scoped the exhaust tube. Both had corrosion. My marina replaced both with a kit from Sim Yamaha. One engine had beginning of corrosion on the bottom of the oil pan. It was cleaned, repaired with a weld and checked a year later. All was good. I replaced both with new Yamaha F250s in 2020.