Thanks for all the suggestions. I spoke to the Bushhog Factory Service rep the other day. He said those gearboxes are very well known for getting moisture in them with just normal use. He even made the comment that I can go to all the trouble to change oil but chances are I値l have a little bit of moisture in there in 12 months again. He said sucking out the amount of fluid that I can and replacing with new is more than adequate. The new oil壮 have plenty of additives to fight off the moisture as long as youæ±*e using quality oil.
With that statement he got me thinking about using yamaha outboard gear oil. Itç—´ designed to not mix with water. Since itç—´ used in lower units of outboard engines water is very frequent. maybe even using a 50-50 mix of this with regular gear oil. I will be curious to hear the comments on my idea. Desk below of outboard gear oil....
The gears inside your lower unit are constantly turning, and the only protection they have is the lower unit lubricant you use. Its job is to form a micro-thin film between the metal component parts to keep them from actually touching. Under the large loads these gears exert, proper lubrication requires extreme resistance to pressure, foaming and molecular shear. And, since the lower unit operates underwater, its lubricant also has to be capable of maintaining necessary lubricity even when a significant amount of water is present, should some leak inside. Ordinary gear lubricant can稚 do all of this; so always avoid automotive or tractor gear oils. Use a quality, marine-based formula, like Yamalubeｮ Marine Gearcase Lube. It can perform all of these required protection and lubrication duties, even with a full 10% of water present. There痴 even an HD formula,
