Follow up to leaking gear lube
Well, I believe the problem is solved. The resevoir still is going up and down about 1/4" (Ouiji board would not even give me an answer on that!). The hose where it connects at the bottom of the resevoir bottle was clamped on by a "cheap"plastic clamp. Noticed some leakage there. I replaced it with a metal clamp. Problem solved for now. Where the hose connects to the stern drive unit however is clamped on by the same "cheap" plastic clamp. There was no evidence of leakage there. If the one near the sterndrive ever goes bad, that will be a bear to fix. Very confined space, will have to remove the battery, hatch jack screw and motor and the rubber exhaust tube just to get in close enough to it. Then after working around all the other hoses and "stuff" down there with a little luck, replacing the clamp will be the hard part. You need some really long fingers and the a long screwdriver or ratchet extension to tighten the clamp. I will keep my fingers crossed. We will se this weekend. Thanx for all the help and info. Probably saved me a few hundred bucks for something I could have done myself. Some one else mentioned the "pinion seal" to. I asked the local mechanic and he did not know what it was, (looks like I will have to do some searching for another mechanic, if after I call mercruiser and they confirm it exists). It is supposedly made of steel and with all the water, prone to some corrosion. I will folow up on that too.