V Drive oil milky

[scoot18]

Guys the past 2 seasons while changing fluids prepping for the upcoming season, I've found that the V drive oil is milky. I've asked for advice on another thread and haven't got any feedback. I know it's possible to have taken on some water thru the vent, and there was one case 3 seasons ago when we were surfing and took on a lot of water, "I mean a lot!" The boat just kept getting slower and slower, I opened the engine cover and saw that the belts were under water. We had a bunch of people and full sacs on the boat that day and the surf wave was incredible, but the result was too much water in the boat. With all of that said, I would think that this would clear after changing the oil a couple of times. My next thought is that there is a small crack in the oil cooler that runs through the V drive cover. I am considering replacing the cover and want to know if it is a bolt on cover only or does it hold together gear shafts and internal components. Has anyone else experienced this, and anyone ever replaced the end cover on the v-drive unit?
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[skippabcool]

There might be a couple of scenarios. I would first suspect the the vent as you mentioned and the second would be a crack as you have mentioned. Have you noticed a increase or decrease in the amount in the v drive? If not I would rule out the crack. The other is when you first saw it was measures did you take? It will take a number of times emptying and filling the v drive to get all of the milky out. Some have suggested using diesel in the past to help get it all out.

[boatwakes]

Hey scoot, easy to test for a crack, here's how:
- disconnect the inlet and outlet water hoses that pass through the vdrive cooler (1.25" I.d. Hose) and use compressed air to blow residual water out.
- make up a sturdy plug for one side and an adapter to connect a pressure gauge and compressed air to the other. I have a cheap pressure gauge (30psi) from the hardware store connected to schedule 80 pvc with a ball valve to lock the pressure where I want to test.
- pressurize the system to 20psi, shut the valve off and look for air bubbles in the oil AND watch the pressure gauge for a drop.
- if you need to replace the cooler, its just a cover plate at the back of the vdrive.
Let us know what you find. If it's not cracked, we use diesel and fill the entire unit to the top, let it sit overnight, suck out the stuff and then perform 4-5 oil changes, running the unit after the second oil change to flow oil around all the gears and clutches.