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I just put my boat away for her long winter rest and when I drained the lower unit I found a problem. The lube a little bit of water(not enough to cause problems) but the lube was brown and had a burnt smell to it. In all the years I have been changing the lube in my various boats I have never had this problem. What does this mean? Do I have a bad seal, did I do something to overheat the oil or does this happen from time to time Has anybody else had this problem before?
It may just be the plastic washers on the screws you drain the oil with, they let a little water trough when they wear out sometimes, I would replace both gaskets(cost a couple of bucks)and keep an eye on your lube. Twice it has happened to me and both times it was these little clear washers.
FM....What type of gear lube did you use? Many of the lubes contain a higher amount of sulpher, especially the Syntec. This will cause that burnt smell you get when you empty it out. Not to worry, thats normal with that type of oil. If you say that there was only a bit of water mixed in with it, I'd be sure to change the oil once before the season starts, and then again mid season to be sure the problem didn't get any worse (hitting a stump or bottom will do that) and to insure your gear oil is not watered down and isn't doing it's job properly. Which could wind up costing you a new set of gears.
Thanks for the info guys. I spoke with a dealer about this and he said that due to the amount that I use my boat I should change my gear lube at least half way thru the season. I use synthetic Johnson/Evinrude gear lube which he tells me is very good. I thought as long as I changed it every year that was enough but he told me that it is better to change it a couple of times due to high use( and abuse ) He told me I shouldn't have any problems with it though so thats all that matters.
and when I drained the lower unit I found a problem. The lube a little bit of water(not enough to cause problems) but the lube was brown and had a burnt smell to it. In all the years I have been changing the lube in my various boats I have never had this problem. What does this mean? Do I have a bad seal, did I do something to overheat the oil or does this happen from time to time 
Has anybody else had this problem before?
Sounds like someone needs some new seals.
) He told me I shouldn't have any problems with it though so thats all that matters.