Outdrive Hydraulics leak

[shrew]

Hi,
I'm fairly new to the forum, so I'll apologize right up front for what is most likely going to be a flurry of questions. I posted earlier on what to be done to get ready for spring, but this is somewhat unrelated.

I recently purchased a 1997 2800 SCR. The previous owner had a survey done in Aug. 2006, which stated the following:

Running Gear: Bravo III
-> Hydraulic Lift: occasional evidence of corrosion
occassional evidence of hydraulic fluid leaks at fittings.

I had a partial survey done recently (I'm waiting until the boat is in the water to complete the survey, seatrial and finalize the purchase). The survey I had done states:

"Out drive fluid reservoir and connections need to be inspected."

When I spoke with the surveyor, he said the drive trim resevoir appeared to be very low which is indicative of a leak. After replacing the impellor and drive fluid, I painted the outdrive and replaced all the zinks. This weekend I threw in a fresh battery and raised and lowered the ourdrive. I rechecked the connections on the pump and the rams and couldn't see any obvious leaks. I did notice that paint on the the Stb ram is just slightly darker right where the seal would be between for the internal shaft. This has been like that since right after I painted it a month ago. It was never used since I painted it and hasn't grown in size. The discoloration didn't get any larger after raising/lowering the outdrive and the spot is dry to the touch.

How can I go about testing this? Should I simply raise and lower the outdrive 10-20 more times to compare? A friend with the same model mercrusier pump on an Alpha drive claims that the resevoir cap is known to leak and the resevoir could simply be low due to that. I'd like to determine what the actual issue is.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Steve

[seapuppy]

welcome to the zoo...first thing I'd do is since your running a 97 model and the rams have been used all this time...personally...I'd either negotiate the price down for a repair or new ones...comparatively they aren't that expensive and a good shop can rebuild them for dirt nothing...the kit probably costs about 20-25 bucks...taking it off isn't too hard...2 bolts and a rubber mallet...but that's just me ..rather than trying to figure out if it's leaking..which it shows on the housing...and how much it's leaking...the key thing is "IT'S LEAKING"!!......so...that's what I'd do...either rebuild or negotiate the price of the boat down to include repair or replacement...


SP...

[shrew]

I guess I'm only intersted in testing to verify what needs to be replaced. I would hate to replace the rams to find it's actually the pump, or vice versa. Is it fairly safe to assume it's the rams?

[seapuppy]

well...where theres leaking fluid...there is a problem...so..if the rams are leaking ..that's the problem...if you see fluid on the inside of the boat..then yes..it would be the pump......
so..in my 2 braincells...if your seeing fluid on the outside of the boat on a ram......then..hey..guess what....it's a ram....

kinda like the old story ..if it walks like a duck...quacks like a duck...hey...it's a duck!!...
unfortunately I'm not there.....so..I can't feel it..touch it..sniff it...look at it.....so..I'm only taking your description on it....
SP