1yr old 9.9hp Tohatsu - oil leak from tiny hole after being moved first time

[tcampbell011]

I have a new (under warranty) Tohatsu 4 stroke 9.9hp electric start outboard. It worked great for me all last season. I have moved to a new house and in the process I stored the motor on its side for the winter. On the motor there is a side that is marked as "up", and I had that end up. Now that its summer, I took it out of the garage and mounted it on my boat in the up position. It leaked black oil from a tiny hole on the lower unit, made a small puddle then stopped after about 10 seconds. I hadn't even noticed this hole before, it's not the lower unit oil in/out screws, and I cannot find anything about it in the manual. I found a picture from another post on here but no explanations.

Is there anyone that has an idea of what happened? Hopefully no seals are broken. The oil was definitely black. The motor is under warranty but the closest dealer is about 200mi away. If it's nothing to worry about I'd rather not make the drive.

Thanks for any input!

 

[pvanv]

What is your actual model?

 

[Sea Rider]

If oil is black, sticky, gummy with odor its combustion leftover draining from small lower leg hole. Nothing to worry about and quite normal.

Happy Boating

 

[tcampbell011]

Thanks for the replies. The exact model is: MFS9.8A3EFS

 

[tcampbell011]

From what I've been reading I don't think there is a problem. The more I think about the color of the oil, the more I forget exactly what it looked like. I will start it here at home to make sure its running okay.

 

[pvanv]

OK, so it's not a 9.9. The 9.8 is a completely different motor. One of my favorites. All 4-strokes make oil, so being that new, you may have been a hair over full. Then laying down could get some to slosh out. If no more drips out, you are OK. Check the dipstick anyway, to make sure you aren't even a drop over full.

 

[tcampbell011]

Thanks, I still haven't gotten around to testing it but I will update once I do. Just curious, what makes them different? (the 9.9 vs the 9.8). Although I didn't notice a 9.9 on their website, I'm guessing the 9.8 is the newer of the motors?

 

[pvanv]

Thanks, I still haven't gotten around to testing it but I will update once I do. Just curious, what makes them different? (the 9.9 vs the 9.8). Although I didn't notice a 9.9 on their website, I'm guessing the 9.8 is the newer of the motors?

Completely different blocks; completely different frames, completely different carbs, completely different ignition systems, etc. The 8 and 9.8 are in one family, the 9.9 and older 15 are in another. The 9.9 was discontinued years ago in favor of the much lighter 9.8.