saildrive

[namara]

I need some advice on an yanmar sd 40 saildrive. Yesterday while running 1 of our engines (its a cat) the boat slowed to a stop. The engine was fine it didn't seem like the saildrive was working. I checked the fluid level and sea water came out. I don't know if I blew a seal or what happened. I was pulling the boat in 60 days to do some work on it but now I think I should pull it ASAP because the drive is full of salt water. The problem is I won't have a place to live and I would spend thousands over the next 2 mo to rent and my condo I bought will be ready in 60 days so it won't cost me anything. Am I risking ruining the drive? is it already ruined?
Thank you
Chris

[Ostinato]

It doesn’t sound good but I would try to seal the drive underwater from the outside by bagging it. Then pump out the old fluid and fill it with it oil. Sounds like you can run the engine in neutral so I would run it again to circulate the oil. (This may not however be possible if sealing the drive has blocked the intake ports.)

I would then wait the 60 days and have it towed to the yard or at least assisted. I am afraid you are going to need the $ you save for replacing the drive. I would at least know the prices before you try to repair it. When I was faced with a repair vs replace decision recently, replacing my drives was cheaper.

BTW I would bet you’re second drive is not far behind this one. Sorry.

[rom]

Originally Posted by namara

I need some advice on an yanmar sd 40 saildrive. Yesterday while running 1 of our engines (its a cat) the boat slowed to a stop. The engine was fine it didn't seem like the saildrive was working. I checked the fluid level and sea water came out. I don't know if I blew a seal or what happened. I was pulling the boat in 60 days to do some work on it but now I think I should pull it ASAP because the drive is full of salt water. The problem is I won't have a place to live and I would spend thousands over the next 2 mo to rent and my condo I bought will be ready in 60 days so it won't cost me anything. Am I risking ruining the drive? is it already ruined?
Thank you
Chris

Waht you describe reminds me of a net stuck in the propeller but I suppose you made sure the prop turns freely. So, maybe the inverter lever is stuck, cable somehow broken, .. ? You can run a yanmar saildrive with a mix of water and oil in it for a long long time, but of course that is not recommend.

edit: seawater came out of the SD ? you mean like it would flood the engine compartment ? like there is actually no more SD below ? or just there is some water in the SD ?

[Calif.Ted]

I believe I'd have to haul right away or I'd have difficulty sleeping for the next 2 months.

[ggray]

This really sounds odd, that you would see water when you remove the cap. All the oil must be gone as it should be on top. May be all mixed up from running.

Bagging it sounds like a good idea to me. Remove the prop first if you can (is it and the shaft still there?) so that you could run the motor if necessary. But not sure if it is.

Then I'd pump oil in from the top to push the water down and out. Maybe you better double bag it! You could drill a 1/4 inch hole thru the cap after unscrewing the dip stick, and press a 1/4 inch ss tube in. Pump oil down thru this tube. Not sure how fast this could be done, depending on how bad the water leak is. Get it full of clean oil, and maybe bump the motor over in gear to help spread the new oil.

I think I've read of someone removing the drain plug under water and jamming a plastic tube in the hole so he could suck out the old oil out that way. Perhaps that would be better than bagging the sail drive.

Once every thing is fixed, mount a small oil header/expansion tank a foot or so above the waterline and plumb it with a 1/4 inch vinyl tube to the tube you have installed in the fill cap . You can now more easily check the oil level and add oil when necessary. and it keeps a slight pressure inside the SD to help keep water out. I did this nearly 15 years ago and think it's the way to go.

Good luck and keep us posted.