Oil spraying from serpentine belt Mercruiser Alpha One 5.0L

[pierceskids]

While I was running the boat in front of the house today I noticed oil in the bilge. Ran the motor with the cover off and noticed there was motor oil spraying off the belt. It just started doing this. Any ideas where the oils coming from? I couldn't visibly see where the oil was seeping onto the serpentine belt.

 

[Bondo]

While I was running the boat in front of the house today I noticed oil in the bilge. Ran the motor with the cover off and noticed there was motor oil spraying off the belt. It just started doing this. Any ideas where the oils coming from? I couldn't visibly see where the oil was seeping onto the serpentine belt.

Ayuh,..... Welcome Aboard,.... If it's Motor oil, it's probably the front crank seal,.....

It could be P/S oil from the pump,..??

 

[pierceskids]

Thanks for the reply,
How difficult is it to change the front crank seal? I'm hoping that doesn't involve pulling the motor... and excuse my lack of experience but what exactly is p/s oil?

 

[Fun Times]

Thanks for the reply,
How difficult is it to change the front crank seal? I'm hoping that doesn't involve pulling the motor... and excuse my lack of experience but what exactly is p/s oil?

Hi there, welcome to iboats!

P/S = Power Steering. The P/S pump holds fluid.

What year is your engine? Or better yet, do you have your engine serial number handy? Some engine models need to drop the front of oil pan to R & R the front crankshaft seal or cover.

 

[achris]

Power steering.

 

[Fishermark]

Another possibility is corrosion. Do you boat in salt water? Is the engine rusty? Fairly common for small pin holes to begin to pop up in those situations.

You do not necessarily need to pull the engine to replace the front seal, as it is in the timing cover. But to do it right the oil pan needs to be dropped and the job is much easier with the engine out.

 

[JaCrispy]

I just did mine and it was a B****!!!!! There's zero room in my boat so it made it alot more difficult. You're going to need the front main seal, timing cover gasket, water pump gaskets (and if your engine is similar to a 5.7) thermostat housing gaskets, may as well get a t-stat too.

For tools you need a crank balancer puller and installer. Those are 2 different tools BTW.

 

[pierceskids]

Hi there, welcome to iboats!

P/S = Power Steering. The P/S pump holds fluid.

What year is your engine? Or better yet, do you have your engine serial number handy? Some engine models need to drop the front of oil pan to R & R the front crankshaft seal or cover.

It's a 1994 I can try to get the serial when I'm home later. I don't believe it's a power steering leak as the oil leaking is a different color and the p/s fluid was at a good level according to the dipstick. Most of the oil coming out is shooting from the front crank seal area at the bottom of the belt system. Fishermark: Yes it does run in salt. I't only slightly rusty though.