VIRE 7 Inboard - Advice?

[Rick]

Hello,I think my Vire 7 inboard is in trouble. Upon pulling the gearbox drainplug to change the gear oil out, I discovered the gear oil was white and thick as molasses. This tells me that water made it's way into the gearbox and caused this to happen. Have you had a similar problem and if so, what did you have to do to correct this situation. Also, is the gearbox doomed at this point?Any help/advice is appreciated.Thank you,Rick"Tiny Dancer"

 

[Don Evans]

Go to the archive

Rick, this exact problem was discussed by "Bob" earlier this year. Type in "vire" in the search engine, and you will see the post about half way down. He gives the cause and the remedy. A number of chaps have them. I'd email them through this site to discuss specifics about the Vire. Good luck.Don

 

[Bob]

Vire 7 - Water in Transmission

Water is entering your transmission via the water pump housing seal. The spline shaft that drives your impeller from the transmission passes through a seal in the transmission case.Pull the water pump housing and remove the impeller. You may be able to remove the seal without taking out the transmission, I'm not sure because I had already removed my engine and transmission to rebuild them (this was on my last boat, a C&C 25).A replacement seal is available from Hansen Marine in Marblehead, MA. Tap in the new seal, replace your impeller, and that should do it.If you don't make this repair, what will happen is the pressure in the water pump will continue to force water into the transmission displacing your gear oil through the top vent and into your bilge...STINKEROO! and quite a nasty mess to clean up.I'm trying to locate a copy of my old Vire 7 maintenance manual. If you need a copy, e-mail me and I'll put you on my list to mail you one. Good luck.Cheers,Bob