sterndrive trim

Question
I am looking a buying a boat.  It has a volvo penta sterndrive that comes out of the water in reverse and leaks oil in the river.  It will raise with the trim button before the oil leaks out.  Nothing is leaking in the motor body.  Do you have any ideas and would the boat have to be out of the water to replace fix it?  Thank you

Answer
Hello Jerry...Thank you for selecting the undersigned to reply to your question.

Avoid a quick and full throttle when reversing, and your lower unit won't rise up. Besides, it also sounds like the hydraulics in the trim/tilt system lack sufficient fluid, which seems to have leaked out (usually red). If lower unit oil is also leaking out, there's a gasket or seal problem. Take the boat out of the water and check the remaining oil in the lower unit for water contamination (milky grey). The next step is to determine how much damage has been sustained to the gears and bearings.

Safe Boating
Ron