Oil leak

[PEARCE]

I've had a very minor leak from both of my engines for several years now and was wondering if I was the only one. When I say minor I mean MINOR. I was messing around on the boat yesterday afternoon and I opened the engine bay to check on things. I haven't had it open or run my engines since early October. I was able to wipe up all the oil in the bilge with one paper towel. That's how minor it is. I checked both dipsticks and there was oil on the tip of both of them. I'm planning to change the oil before the start of the season so I didn't bother adding any since I wasn't going to start them anyway. I think the leak is coming from the oil pan gasket on both engines. Is there a fix for this? With the exception of pulling the engines to be able to drop the pan and replacing the gaskets. I wipe the bilge out and check the oil level in both engines before each outing so I'm on top of the situation.

 

[Bruce]

I have not seen any oil leakage on my SX230. After running my LX210 I would find a slight covering of dried oil in the engine compartment. I always assumed it was escaping from the two stroke engines.

 

[Julian]

I've seen a couple of drips in my engine bay before....always assumed it was from a prior oil change finally dripping off the bottom of engine....but could be oil pan. I'll look next time I got to visit her (she's in the marina locked yard)

 

[fairpilot]

Check filters run hand under each and see if leaking a little

 

[DCB-270]

Hi Pearce. Good to see you here. I don't know about the oil leak but I guess I should start watching mine a little closer. I think we have the same motors.

 

[PEARCE]

I've checked around the filters and yes that might be part of it. I change the oil every other season so I think the dripping would have stopped by now. I retorqued both filters after the first few outings to try and stop the drips. I'm almost afraid to torque them anymore. I've reached up under both engines and felt around the oil pan and have come up with oily fingers. It's not bad at all. It's just something to keep an eye on. I think Impelled has or had this same problem.

Yes Dan, we have the same engines.

 

[Glassman]

Yeah, I might see a drop or two from time to time...But I heard it was good luck to have a few drops of oil in the bilge.

But then again, I hang out with a bunch of idiots.

 

[txav8r]

I've read for years that many guys have had the minor small drips. I never had it on mine, but I only had 67 hours when I sold it! Danny and Cheryl will be on board tonight (new owners of the nauti dawg) they can keep up the history on that boat. I don't think pulling the engines to fix that is worth it at all. Speaking of impelled, someone needs to contact him via PM on the other board, and get in touch via email to discuss having him join us... I am locked out, so someone else will have to contact him.

 

[KXCam22]

I know this is a band aid but if you can spot the minor leak a couple of coats of "seal-all" will usually fit it. If you clean the surface well this stuff will stick to anything and is impervious to gas and oil. I have used this product for years and most of the temp repairs turned into permanent ones. For example my new supermoto bike has developed a center case gasket leak (just off warantee). I know that the seal all will fix this permenently and avoid me having to pull and disassemble the engine just to replace a bad gasket. Hope this helps. Cam.

 

[txav8r]

Wow @KXCam22 ...I wish I had tried that stuff, or JB Weld...anything but what I went through with a Trojan Tri-Cabin that I had. A number of months into ownership of that vessel, the first attempted voyage ended almost in disaster. After fueling, we discovered fuel in the bilge! Shut down the generator and engines, killed all batteries, and towed to the service yard of the marina. They drained all fuel and I spent the next week tearing down the flying bridge and salon to remove a fuel tank to get a crack in the filler neck welded. To think, I could have spot fixed that and saved all that work, money, and agony! Great post as usual!

 

[PEARCE]

If it gets much worse I may try that. Thanks for the idea.

 

[KXCam22]

I have used it to repair leaks in a few metal motorcycle gas tanks and my neighbors truck last fall. Worked on the leaky front diff on my old chev truck where a rock had mangled it. It is worth a try. I put on about 5 thin coats if I can. Cam.

 

[marc7]

Add me to the list of leaking oil....I monitor it weekly...wipe up the bilge and add oil when needed.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Just wondering , did those engines also have the 3rd bolt issue on the oil cooler? If so it should be a warranty issue.
Also remember the problems with oil filters rusting at the crimp and leaking .

 

[KXCam22]

A very slight possibility is that an extra oil filter gasket is stuck on there and the oil is leaking from the filter. I have had this happen 2x now on cars where the old gasket stays behind un-noticed and then prevents the new filter from sealing perfectly. Rare but it can happen with oil filters that have a removable gasket. Cam.

 

[jetboater4life]

I have a tube of that stuff in my tool chest. I used it to repair a leaky gas tank on a lawnmower. I must not have cleaned the surface well enough because it would start to leak at the end of the season. I did this for two seasons before I replaced the gas tank.

 

[marc7]

I have confirmed that my leak is not coming from my oil filters, which leads me to believe the pan gasket is letting go.
I am sure there are other products on the market to consider, however a quick search leads me to the following as a means to identify the leak:
UV Fluorescent Leak Detection Dye http://www.amazon.com/Tracer-Products-TP34000601-Fluorescent-Detection/dp/B000JFHNTM

Cheers!

 

[PEARCE]

I have confirmed that my leak is not coming from my oil filters, which leads me to believe the pan gasket is letting go.
I am sure there are other products on the market to consider, however a quick search leads me to the following as a means to identify the leak:
UV Fluorescent Leak Detection Dye http://www.amazon.com/Tracer-Products-TP34000601-Fluorescent-Detection/dp/B000JFHNTM

Cheers!

Same boat year and motors, makes since to me.

 

[itsdgm]

Out of curiosity what type of oil are you guys with the pan gasket using? Conventional, synthetic or semi-synthetic.

I developed a slight oil leaks in both engines after my first oil change to synthetic. Next season I switched to conventional and one engine stopped leaking. Now I use semi-synthetic and the one with a leak is very slight. No more than a drip here and there.

 

[ToddW850]

My Starboard engine good to go but I do see an occasional drip from the port engine. I used a mirror and light to look under there. Then I could see the oil pan gasket appeared to have a light coat of oil. The drops of oil are so inconsistent and small that I don't need to mess with it at this point. Took pics with my phone too so I could get a better look.

I had wondered if spraying my engines down with YamaLube just pushed oily type substances down, but my other engine wasn't doing it so I ruled that out.

If its not leaking bad, I don't think it would be worth the cost or hassle at this point. Keep an extra quart of oil in the boat with you though.