I have a Cobalt 226 with the Volvo 5.7gsi and the DuoProp setup. When I changed gear lube last season, I noticed the Amsoil marine gear lube smelled pretty burnt. It was pretty dark in color with no hints of metal that I noticed. I would estimate there was less than 20 hours and only one short Minnesota season on this lube. We do some water sports but mainly casual cruising and nothing of any distance. I would not say that we are stressing the driveline by any means but the gear lube seems to say otherwise. This was the first season using Amsoil. One of the boating forums suggested the Amsoil marine gear lube may be too slippery for the cone clutches but I have not heard of others complaining of this. Any ideas as to what might be going on here? Thanks, in advance, for your feedback.
Amsoil marine gear lube smells burnt - why??
- Thread starter cwindingland
- Start date
- Status
Originally Posted By: cwindingland
I have a Cobalt 226 with the Volvo 5.7gsi and the DuoProp setup. When I changed gear lube last season, I noticed the Amsoil marine gear lube smelled pretty burnt. It was pretty dark in color with no hints of metal that I noticed. I would estimate there was less than 20 hours and only one short Minnesota season on this lube. We do some water sports but mainly casual cruising and nothing of any distance. I would not say that we are stressing the driveline by any means but the gear lube seems to say otherwise. This was the first season using Amsoil. One of the boating forums suggested the Amsoil marine gear lube may be too slippery for the cone clutches but I have not heard of others complaining of this. Any ideas as to what might be going on here? Thanks, in advance, for your feedback.
The lakes were pretty low last summer, are you sure the prop was in watter and not muck?
I have a Cobalt 226 with the Volvo 5.7gsi and the DuoProp setup. When I changed gear lube last season, I noticed the Amsoil marine gear lube smelled pretty burnt. It was pretty dark in color with no hints of metal that I noticed. I would estimate there was less than 20 hours and only one short Minnesota season on this lube. We do some water sports but mainly casual cruising and nothing of any distance. I would not say that we are stressing the driveline by any means but the gear lube seems to say otherwise. This was the first season using Amsoil. One of the boating forums suggested the Amsoil marine gear lube may be too slippery for the cone clutches but I have not heard of others complaining of this. Any ideas as to what might be going on here? Thanks, in advance, for your feedback.
The lakes were pretty low last summer, are you sure the prop was in watter and not muck?
That's funny but have you priced a set of SS Duo-props before? I hope this winter's snowfall helps bring many of the lakes back up to a decent level.
cwindingland,
I would try using a different brand of lube this season and see what it comes out like. Or, you could always send it off to the lab to see what is going on.
I am with you on the lake level being low. I chewed up a prop on the bottom and hit a stump bending my skeg this year on Forest Lake. After that I started going to a different lake. Rediculous how low the level was this last year!
I would try using a different brand of lube this season and see what it comes out like. Or, you could always send it off to the lab to see what is going on.
I am with you on the lake level being low. I chewed up a prop on the bottom and hit a stump bending my skeg this year on Forest Lake. After that I started going to a different lake. Rediculous how low the level was this last year!
I have been told that the rotten smell is normal in outboard gear oil. I changed gear oil on my Mercury outboard last week and the oil smelled pretty rotten.
I also notice a bit of metal shavings on the magnetic drain plug, but again, from what I have been told, that is also normal wear, especially since the old oil was in there longer than what is recommended.
I also notice a bit of metal shavings on the magnetic drain plug, but again, from what I have been told, that is also normal wear, especially since the old oil was in there longer than what is recommended.
Would be pretty hard to better the Amsoil gear lube. But you could try a run of something else to see if it makes a difference. I doubt it would.
Getting an analysis would be a good idea.
Getting an analysis would be a good idea.
I used the same stuff (75w-90) in a Land Rover transfer case and it also comes out smelling burnt after just a few thousand miles. However I noticed quieter running, so I refilled with same.
The Merc. High Performance stuff, synthetic, absolutely stinks out of the bottle. Now, add some heat to it, probably even worse. If your not losing oil, I wouldn't worry about it and change it out at the end of every season IF you got the hours on it. I'm a firm believer that if you didn't use it a lot, don't change it out. Let it sit for a couple of days, then drain some of the oil out of the drive. If there is water in there, it will come out first, then you'll need to change it out and possibly pull it apart and do a pressurized leak test to see if you have a leak. A little water is OK, like half a tablespoon, more than that. You got problems.
- Status
