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1992 SNOB Possible Transmission Oil Leak

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    Posted: August-04-2021 at 1:58pm
Hey guys,

Hoping to get some good old fashioned wisdom on PCM transmissions. So bought the boat about two weeks ago and ran it twice without problems. Boat shifted beautifully and never noticed any slipping issues. Last time I ran it I got stranded since it wouldn't start over. Suspecting it has to do with slipping alternator belt since it was squealing. Anyways, back to the transmission. Last time before I put it in the water (foolishly) I checked the transmission oil for the first time. It looked scary low. Seeing that it called for 20 20w oil and I couldn't find it anywhere, and with the help of super nice people on this forum, learned that I can flush it out and put Dexron III in instead. So, I did that and before my battery died it was shifting fine for about 30 minutes from neutral, idle, WOT, reverse, etc. When I brought the boat back to the garage, the next morning I did a cold transmission fluid check, and it was in between the empty and full marks. From what I've been reading it should reach all the way up to the little rivet almost halfway up the dipstick on cold readings correct?

Also worth noting:

Embarrassed to say this but I've never flushed and filled up transmission fluid before. I was very nervous with over-filling it so it's entirely possible I didn't put enough in. Every time I put in more I was getting completely weird readings on the dipstick, which I attribute 100% to user error. I've decided to not run it again and just let a marine mechanic who knows what he's doing to drain it again and fill it up completely and (hopefully) I can watch him so I know I'm doing it correctly.

My question to you guys is how would I check for a transmission oil leak? I've heard of people saying they put cardboard under the tranny and check for leaks, but won't water get on the cardboard? That doesn't really make sense to me. I guess another thought would be to completely clean the bilge and then check the bilge water to see if it looks like diluted transmission oil? And to that I'm hoping someone can explain how they clean their bilge if it's dry and on land? Because right now my bilge has oily residue on it (I'm assuming) from fogging oil and what not. Can I just go spray water around the bilge willy nilly? Or do I have to be careful that no water gets sprayed onto transmission, engine, etc? 

As you can probably tell I'm a super novice when it comes to all this, and just trying to keep the boat healthy without doing ignorant damage to it!
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Gary S View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Gary S Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August-04-2021 at 4:06pm
Hot water,Dawn,some brushes and elbow grease. You'll have to clean it up the best you can to see if any new oil leaks out. If it's the trans it will now be easy to see since you now have red ATF to look for. For now just concentrate on cleaning the bilge not the engine or trans,don't use high pressure directed haphazardly against the engine or trans.  
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Drain plug in.  1/2 cup Dawn dishwashing liquid.  5+ gallons of warm water in bilge.  Pull boat on trailer around town for 30 minutes.  Lots of stopping, starting and turns.  Water / soap sloshes around and de-greases everything.  Drain. Refill with warm water.  Drive around 5 more minutes.  Drain. Sparkling clean bilge.  When dry, put cardboard under transmission to catch oil drips.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote apolonie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August-04-2021 at 4:46pm
Okay thanks guys! Jonny, as for the cardboard, how do I know if it's ATF or just that the cardboard is wet from water in the bilge? I guess I'll just have to try and see lol!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Gary S Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August-04-2021 at 5:32pm
ATF is red hopefully the water you boat in is not. As dirty as your bilge looks in your muffler bracket picture looks like a brush won't hurt
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Jonny Quest Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August-04-2021 at 11:58pm
Originally posted by apolonie apolonie wrote:

Okay thanks guys! Jonny, as for the cardboard, how do I know if it's ATF or just that the cardboard is wet from water in the bilge? I guess I'll just have to try and see lol!

Wait for the bilge to dry first.  In this heat, it shouldn't take too long.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote KENO Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August-05-2021 at 4:53am
Originally posted by Jonny Quest Jonny Quest wrote:

Originally posted by apolonie apolonie wrote:

Okay thanks guys! Jonny, as for the cardboard, how do I know if it's ATF or just that the cardboard is wet from water in the bilge? I guess I'll just have to try and see lol!

Wait for the bilge to dry first.  In this heat, it shouldn't take too long.

I'd make this guess that if you had a piece of white cardboard or a piece of white paper taped to the cardboard you'd figure it out pretty quick.

Just a guess Wink
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote apolonie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August-05-2021 at 11:26am
Great thanks guys. Also with this, how do you guys know how much tranny fluid to put it at a time? e.g. if the motor was cold and read halfway in between the empty and full marks, how much would you put? 

I'm also guessing to test the leak I would need to put it in gear? Would I have to go all the way to WOT (probably testing on land) or is idle enough to test for a leak?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jonny Quest Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August-07-2021 at 12:05am
Originally posted by apolonie apolonie wrote:

Great thanks guys. Also with this, how do you guys know how much tranny fluid to put it at a time? e.g. if the motor was cold and read halfway in between the empty and full marks, how much would you put? 

I'm also guessing to test the leak I would need to put it in gear? Would I have to go all the way to WOT (probably testing on land) or is idle enough to test for a leak?

Run the engine on the hose until it reaches operating temp.  BE CAREFUL if you decide to run the transmission "in gear" on the trailer.  If you choose to do this, you must keep the strut bearing lubricated constantly with a stream of water.  Obviously you need to be cautious with a spinning prop.  Make sure the fluid level is topped-off before running.  And, NO, don't go to WOT.  Don't exceed 3,000 RPMs without a load on the engine.  After you shut down, then slide the cardboard under the tranny to catch any drips at specific locations.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote apolonie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August-11-2021 at 1:56pm
Just an update:

Took the boat to the mechanic, right before I handed the keys to him we looked at the bilge and saw what looked like transmission fluid... yikes. 

When I picked up the boat this week he said he took the boat on an extensive test run and saw no leaks whatsoever (thank the lord), so when I was doing a flush and refill myself I must have put in too much and it got pushed through the relief valve. 
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