Sail Drive issue

[captalie]

Hello all,
Has anyone out here had a brand new sail drive on a brand new Cat, with milky oil in the sail drive? If so, did the warranty cover a new drive or did they just flush it, find the leak of salt water, repair and call it a day? If it was flushed and repaired was it successful? Did the drive last or was its life diminished?
We are scheduled to take delivery soon. But am very concerned that this has happened, the boat was sail delivered and has a little over 100 hours. Should we insist that the drive be replaced?
Thank you for your time and have a Happy and Healthy New Year!
A & M

[OldMan]

It's highly likely the drive has experience damage such as a fishing line wrapped around the prop shaft and it destroyed the lip seal.


At the very least, insist on a haul out, replace both lip seals, and a warranty that makes sure the leak has stopped.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by OldMan

It's highly likely the drive has experience damage such as a fishing line wrapped around the prop shaft and it destroyed the lip seal.


At the very least, insist on a haul out, replace both lip seals, and a warranty that makes sure the leak has stopped.

+1. Also, check the shaft for scoring, even a little damage at the seal/shaft mating area can make it impossible to seal...requiring repair/replacement of shaft.

[Bean Counter]

Sometimes either the owner or skipper or unqualified service mechanics overfill the sail drive oil. I think some folk may get their boat new in France sail down to Portugal/Spain, get the 50 hrs service done by a cheap/dodgy mechanic who overfills the oil and then they suffer the consequences half way across the Atlantic. The overfull oil puts increased pressure on the seals and if high enough will blow the seals and allow water in. If dealt with quickly nothing should be damaged but would require a haul out to change the oil and seals and also check for shaft damage etc, as mentioned maybe a fishing line. Was the delivery performed by a professional skipper ? Our SD 50 Yanmar service book says the first service should take place at 50 hours, not sure what the newer models require.

[Bean Counter]

By the way if you find your saildrive oil level too high a good device to suck small amount of oil out is a turkey baster or big syringe.