[Anonymous]

G’day all (second try)

I am losing a small amount of transmission fluid from my sail drive and have discounted the obvious positions, dipstick, rear cover and gear shift plate. The oil is definitely ATF and is dripping into the bilge. I have identified the leak coming from the joint between the aft end of the engine bell housing and the sail drive. Referring to drawings it looks likely the lip seal has gone on the sail drive.

Q. Can this seal be replaced by moving the engine forward and leaving the sail drive in situ?

I intend to change the sail drive oil from ATF to engine oil at the next haul out, So – should I leave the lip seal change for another season to see if it holds the more viscous oil?
Brgds

[Author]

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