SD50 - Life Expectancy

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   Thanks Mark.  Yes - I got a syringe large enough to frighten a horse and have adjusted the oil to the correct level with the saildrive running fine now.  Dave's comments are always worth reading and I'm doing my best to take account of the advice.  Unfortunately, although I've got the right adapters to change the oil afloat I can't get the screw for the discharge line out without risking damaging the slot.  That's an end-of-season job I reckon but in the meantime I'll do a change when I get the boat lifted for a mid-season scrub.
However, I wanted to check further into the discolouration visible on the surface and managed to extract some 800mls with the syringe and hose.  It all appeared clear with only some bubbles forming after aspiration that resembled the streaks seen in the photo.  Perhaps the discolouration was bubbles formed after the expanded oil in the breather tube returned to the gearbox.  I'm sending a sample off to a lab anyway when I'm able.

I'm thinking that boats in general are designed to drive us nuts - or occupy our minds to such an extent that we can't get into any other form of trouble.

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Ratbasher Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Vice Admiral Joined: 31 May 2017 Location: Cyprus Status: Offline Points: 818	Post Options Post Reply Quote Ratbasher Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01 June 2025 at 08:46
	Thanks Mark. Yes - I got a syringe large enough to frighten a horse and have adjusted the oil to the correct level with the saildrive running fine now. Dave's comments are always worth reading and I'm doing my best to take account of the advice. Unfortunately, although I've got the right adapters to change the oil afloat I can't get the screw for the discharge line out without risking damaging the slot. That's an end-of-season job I reckon but in the meantime I'll do a change when I get the boat lifted for a mid-season scrub. However, I wanted to check further into the discolouration visible on the surface and managed to extract some 800mls with the syringe and hose. It all appeared clear with only some bubbles forming after aspiration that resembled the streaks seen in the photo. Perhaps the discolouration was bubbles formed after the expanded oil in the breather tube returned to the gearbox. I'm sending a sample off to a lab anyway when I'm able. I'm thinking that boats in general are designed to drive us nuts - or occupy our minds to such an extent that we can't get into any other form of trouble.
	H400 (2008) 'Wight Leopard' Gosport, UK

DJgun Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Captain Joined: 04 April 2020 Location: SydneyAustralia Status: Offline Points: 287	Post Options Post Reply Quote DJgun Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01 June 2025 at 09:24
	Hi Iain, 800ml is quite an over-fill, and would have been causing quite a lot of foaming/frothing, which makes the gearbox run significantly hotter. And create more pressure in the saildrive. Getting the sample tested is a good idea as it will show up water content well before it becomes visible to the naked eye. Maintaining the correct oil level of the right oil is 1st step to happiness. If there seems to be a problem first check is oil level. A suggestion is to take a sample soon after running the SD, and just look to see if the amount of aeration is less. Then squirt it back into the SD after visual. I can say that over 45 years involved with machanical power transmission, almost every time a client complained about gearbox temperature it was found overfilled, and often with wrong oil viscosity too. Surprisingly many tradesmen operate on the false premise that more and thicker = better, when in fact more and thicker = worse. Hopefully we will hear a nice report that your oil test is satisfactory. Cheers DJ
	DJ.....Sailor Ordinaire HIN DE-HANJ0331J708

Ratbasher Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Vice Admiral Joined: 31 May 2017 Location: Cyprus Status: Offline Points: 818	Post Options Post Reply Quote Ratbasher Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01 June 2025 at 11:04
	Thanks very much for your advice and help, DJ - much appreciated. The 800mls I mentioned though was the total that I was able to extract via the filler cap; I was unable to open the screw for the extraction fitting so took as much as I could via the cap as I wanted to check if the discolouration persisted below the surface layer and to change as much oil as possible. The amount of the original overfill was about 150ml. I'll do as you suggest about the sampling though; thanks again. Unsurprisingly, however, I've completely lost what little faith I had in the engineers as I'd made them aware ages ago about the Yanmar advisory which they should have known about anyway. To be told that I need a new saildrive largely because "1800hrs is a huge amount for a saildrive" (nonsense) and that a new fresh water pump was needed when the cause was their underfilling of the coolant by over two litres is bordering on fraudulent, let alone incompetent. That said, I should have checked all the levels myself instead of just blindly trusting them. All the best Iain
	H400 (2008) 'Wight Leopard' Gosport, UK

DJgun Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Captain Joined: 04 April 2020 Location: SydneyAustralia Status: Offline Points: 287	Post Options Post Reply Quote DJgun Report Post Thanks(1) Quote Reply Posted: 02 June 2025 at 10:27
	Hi Iain, Unfortunately we do need to check work done on our boats by others, simply because they don't have anyone else to check them before signing off. One of the biggest causes of problems is "interrupted operations" and it can strike even experienced and competent tradesmen and professionals alike. Good luck
	DJ.....Sailor Ordinaire HIN DE-HANJ0331J708

Ratbasher Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Vice Admiral Joined: 31 May 2017 Location: Cyprus Status: Offline Points: 818	Post Options Post Reply Quote Ratbasher Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 09 July 2025 at 13:31
	Just for completeness if anyone's researching this topic in the future, I've had confirmation from Gideon Coetzee, the developer of the Upgrade kit, that although the kit comes with a breather tube the upgraded clutch will work just as well in a sealed gearbox. I thought that would be the case but checking usually beats assuming.... If anyone is considering fitting the upgrade kit, I've found Gideon to be most helpful and quick to respond to any query. Iain
	H400 (2008) 'Wight Leopard' Gosport, UK



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