I recently changed the water pump and seals on my 97 yamaha 30 hp tiller outboard and am still having gear oil leakage. I only changed the drive shaft seals as far down on the drive shaft as I could go. I’m guessing this is below the oil pump, as that was the last part I removed and only saw a bearing under this piece. Anyway, I went refill the gear oil and oil is now leaking from the pee hole adjacent to the water intake grille on the the right side of the lower unit. It does not make sense, to me, to replace the prop shaft seals as I don’t think this will solve the problem. I’m wondering if there is a crack in the gear housing, or some other seals that need to be replaced. Why else would gear oil leak when filling? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc389/spottale/IMAG0010.jpg
Hopefully you can see the pee hole that the oil leaks out of in the pic. It is to the right, or in front, depending on how you want to look at it in the pic. Thanks for any helpful insight.
The motor runs fine, as always, but I am tired of the leaking. I would really be surprised if the gear housing is cracked because the motor runs so good. Thanks for any helpful insight.