Gray Mush in your Gear Lube
Gray mush is metal in your lube.
It is an indication of a very serious internal failure. Bad gears, a failed bearing or a damaged shaft can allow this mush to occure.
If you see gray streaks or if your lube is all gray and thick, don't use the drive. More expensive damage will occure should you use the drive in such condition.
Take the drive to an experienced Mercruiser tech for disassembly and inspection.
Do-it-yourselfers can usually rebuild a drive with the proper shop, manuals and special tools. Usually the entire drive is disassembled, cleaned, inspected, reshimmed and resealed.
Gear Lubes
There are two types of drive lube. Premium and High Performance.
Older drives, such as the ones listed below use Mercruiser Premium Gear Lube.
R, MR, Alpha One, II, IITR, TR, TRS All used Premium although they can also use Mercruiser High Performance Gear Lube. The Mercruiser Premium Gear Lube looks translucent caramel in color.
Bravo One, Bravo Two and Bravo III's all MUST use High Performance Gear Lube. Alpha One Gen II drives also use High Performance Gear Lube.
High Performance Gear Lube has a Blueish-Green green color. It is specially formulated to work well with the Bravo style cone clutch system.
Drive Lube Capacity
You will always use more lube than the factory specified capacity.
R, MR, Alpha One and Alpha One Gen II's all use about one quart.
Bravo Ones use about 3 quarts and a Bravo II or Bravo III will use a little over 3 quarts.
A TRS will use 1 Gallon.
Always buy a little more in case you spill some or need to top off a reservoir.
| 92-858064K01 Hi-Performance Gear Lube Qt $ 16.78 ea |
| 92-858058K01 Premium Gear Lube Qt $ 14.94 ea |
This great little pump works great and it's cheap.
802891K2 Gear Lube Pump Kit (quart size) $10.00
Safety
Lubes, greases and oils can be bad for your health. Use rubber gloves. Always wear safety glasses. Be smart.