Gear Oil contaminated or not

[trimmer21]

Chances are the lower end shouldn't pack it in as you have changed the gear oil before going out. Even if a bit of water gets in you should still be okay because many of us find milky oil come the end of the year but yet the motor ran fine until it was time to be put to bed for the winter.

Exactly....that's why I'm sure it was just a bum bearing. The dealer wasn't about to admit that.