Outboard motor help.

[TX_H-F]

So I just recently picked up this boat and I havent taken it out yet. I noticed the other day a very small puddle of oil on the ground and tracked it down to the lower unit leaking. It seems to be a very slow leak. The motor is a 2002 mercury efi 150.
So the oil is actually coming out of a weep hole in the lower unit, and from what research I did it appears to be caused by a leaky shift shaft seal. My question is, what is the urgency of this to be fixed. Can I go out and run the motor in the lake or should I fix this first? The weep hole leaking is circled in red

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Big Ace]

If oil goes out then water comes in. Your call.

[S-3 Ranch]

I would top it off run it and then check it after use if contaminated chang oil and fix asap

[TX_H-F]

If oil goes out then water comes in. Your call.

I thought the same thing but I dont know much about it.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[PEC]

Pull the bottom plug and check for water in gear case. Mostly likely the shaft seal could be the upper or lower, I would change both and the water pump impeller. You could most likely run the boat a time or two with no issues. only concern I have is from the pics the lower unit looks like it has been welded on before, if that is the case you could have an internal crack.

[Walker]

Smell it. If it smells like rotten eggs it is l/u grease. Id bet it is burnt oil from the fuel. I see you have the l/u off the motor. Lay it on its side for a day or two. If its leaking at the shift rod you will see it.

[BowPro73]

Pull the bottom plug and check for water in gear case. Mostly likely the shaft seal could be the upper or lower, I would change both and the water pump impeller. You could most likely run the boat a time or two with no issues. only concern I have is from the pics the lower unit looks like it has been welded on before, if that is the case you could have an internal crack.

This^ Check for the water and/or the oil. Compare the lower unit oil to the oil from the weep hole, and compare the two stroke mix to the oil from the weep hole. Smear samples side by side on a white napkin for color comparisons. Most likely it's a seal though. Might as well start fresh and replace seals and impeller and call it phase 1 of the never ending maintenance of owning a boat.

[Hammerdown]

Its a lot cheaper and easier to rebuild it now vs when you split the lower unit because the gears went out on you. If you were a fishing guide I would say run it until you don't have a trip scheduled if the oil isn't milky but if you just use the boat for recreation I would get it rebuilt. I believe the kit is $50 or so or to have a marine shop do it Im sure you're looking at $250-300. Both options are cheaper than a new lower unit.

[TX_H-F]

Well bad news. I pulled the drain screw and a little bit of water is in the oil. Im gonna look into fixing this thing sooner than later I guess.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Razorback01]

A "little bit" of water isn't going to hurt it, you can change the lower lube a lot of times cheaper than a complete seal.

[Walker]

A common source of "a little bit of water"is the drain and fill plugs, or the shift rod seal. Dont mess with the prop shaft seal unless you are absolutely sure it is leaking there.

[TX_H-F]

When I searched about the leak online everything pointed to the shift rod. If this thing wasnt leaking Id prolly over look the small amount of milky oil.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Walker]

I think that mercury shift rod seal is all enclosed in the plastic housing. Cost about $25-35 and is simple to install. Yours may or may not be leaking. That hole where.you see the oil coming out is supposed to drain water out of htat cavity in the housing so water doesnt corrode the aluminum of freeze and crack it. Its.quite common for oil residue from exhaust to come out there and the.exhause thru to prop.