question about slow oil leak????

I have a 2001 Crestliner with a Mercruiser 3.0 Alpha One which seems to slowly be lossing oil into the the boat bilge. There are signs of oil on the top of the engine and looks like oil mist on the boat engine cover above the spark arrester and on the sides of the engine compartment cover. The spark arrester looks like its been slightly piched or bent along with the metal latch that is on top of the arrester that has been bent. The spark arrester seems to be saturated in oil also. Is it possible to loose enough oil to collect in the bottom of the boat to be noticeable. Should I just clean the arrester with a solvent or get a new one with the latch cover and the tube from the valve cover? Does it have a PVC valve? Doesn't seem to.

Re: question about slow oil leak????

Ayuh,... What yer describin' is blow-by....
I've never seen it Bad enough to pollute the bilge, usually the motor dies long before that...

Clean up yer flame arrester, 'n keep Lookin' for yer Leak...

Re: question about slow oil leak????

Bond-o

If the tube from the valve cover is not angled towards the arrester could that cause more of the oil to be discharged within the engine comparment and end up settling in the bilge? Could it be a problem with the PVC valve?

Re: question about slow oil leak????

Ayuh,.... It's a Vent, not a pvc valve...
Yes, it should be attached to the flame arrester...

Re: question about slow oil leak????

Yea, thats allot of blowby to run down the engine and collect in the bilge. Also, clean up the engine and bilge such that if it continues, easier to track down if there was a leak along with the blowby. Do a compression check and a leakdown to access the engine condition.