Outdrive braided lines to tops of outdrives (not power trim) 233 Twins

[John Crowther]

Thank you for any help. I am fixing up a 1981 Formula 233 with twin 350's. I absolutely love the boat. I know quite a bit about boats and engines but obviously not everything. I have serached high and low, but can find anything on this topic. On my boat I have two braided lines coming out of the transom whcih are not connected. I have seen a few boats on the registry here with those same lines connected to the upper half of their outdrives. Is this for a gear lube resivoir in the engine compartment? I can't seem to find where they go behind my motors inside my hull. I know modern boats have a clear bottle which feeds the drives gear lube when they go down. Can somebody please tell me what these lines are for, and what I should do to reconnect them to my drives? Thank you.

[Jason]

http://www.crowleymarine.com/mercury-outboard/parts/11844_191.cfm

Thats an aftermarket gear lube reservoir kit, they didn't start coming with them from the factory till the alpha gen II you have alpha gen I so it's a add on then just plumbed into the uper vent hole on the drive....... you should have some canisters located somewhere in your engine compartment

[John Crowther]

 Thanks for the reply Jason and esp. the link. My tanks have definitely been removed from my engine compartment now that I see what they look like. This must be why my lines are disconnected. Hope your engine work is going well and your boat sees the water again soon.

[Jason]

Hope to be back in the water next weekend, both motors are out with the new couplers installed.  Also found a good size leak on the port transom assy so ordered a new gasket for that. Seems like it never ends haha