Dipstick question

Hello all, I own a Haines Signature bow rider that I have had for the last 4 years. It is fitted up with a 4.3 liter mercruiser(the throttle body injection version). When I purchased this boat the engine was a quicksilver remanufactured one. After purchasing I had a few niggly problems that the dealership tried to sort out. Most problems have been sorted and last season everything was going pretty good. One thing that has always occurred is during a high rpm run you would get a hot oily smell and at the end of the day there would be oil around the front of the engine and engine bay that would be typical of a fine mist. Since owning the boat I have never done the oil changes I have had it done by certified marine mechanics. This year I thought I would do it myself, I picked up the oil and filter from an authorized mercruiser dealer, they ran my serial number to ensure I put the correct oil and filter in/on. I sucked the oil out with a vacuum pump and observed almost 6 liters came out. I thought this odd as the service manual states 4.3 liters to fill with new oil filter. I changed out the filter and proceeded to fill the engine. This thing took 7 liters and is in the middle of the full-empty lines. I ran the engine on high idle and then stopped it, let it sit for ten minutes then rechecked the level. No change. This appears to be way more oil than the service manual states. Took the boat to the water for a run and the boat started easily as usual, ran nice at 3500 rpm while cruising. When rpm was taken to 4000-4200 after a couple of minutes the burnt oily smell appeared but something new happened. The engine felt like it was losing power and then a rattling sound like there was no oil and the a quick backfire. I dropped the engine back to idle immediately, then within 30 seconds the engine became quiet no rattling(which by the way sounded like noisy lifters) I proceeded to drive slowly increasing rpm to around 3000 with normal performance. This hashad me stumped. Now a week later I am on the family holiday with the boat and yesterday I launched her and the exact same thing happened. As I do not wish to damage my engine she is now parked up until I can determine what is causing it. First and only thing that coes to mind is too much oil that is foaming from the crankshaft.
Please help.

Re: Dipstick question

Yes, maybe make sure the dipstick is the correct one an/or the dipstick tube it the correct one. Also, is it really going in all the way, etc. You could be overfilling it without knowing it.

Re: Dipstick question

Need a serial number for your original engine, even the year of the boat would help a little if you don't have the SN.

7 L of oil is way too much.

Re: Dipstick question

The engine serial number is 0L025405.

Cheers
Scott

Re: Dipstick question

4.3L is correct, I would imagine that when the engine was replaced, the dip stick was not properly reinstalled. If it was raised up to high to make access to it easier, it would take more oil to get to the dipsticks full mark.
Unfortunately, the manual isn't of any help. It has some dipstick dimensions, but they are screwed up too.
When your engine started loosing power, the oil was becoming aireated due to the crankshaft hitting the oil. When this happens the lifters get spongy from the air and start collapsing. Thus the power loss.

Re: Dipstick question

So should I remove all of the oil and start again? The only thing is nothing registers on the dipstick until 6 liters or so. I guess at the time of filling I will know the volume and then I can take it for a run to ensure everything is ok, then look at modifying the dipstick tube or whatever to reflect actual volume in engine. As this was a remanufactured engine from quicksilver and I am only guessing it was a long motor that the dealer received, it looks like someone has made a bit of a **** up here. Looking at the dipstick tube I can't see how it would be possible to install it incorrectly.
Thank you for your help, I shall report back to give feedback once the bloody rain stops
Cheers
Scott

Re: Dipstick question

It's impossible for me to tell what happened, I can't see it from here.

Re: Dipstick question

I will post some photos of the installation and also of the dipstick with a measuring tape beside it. I am also aware that you cannot see it Don S, however if you would like more details then ask me what you require. I am at my wits end after four years and may have finally come up with an answer to some of the things that have plagued my boat since purchase. You have no idea how much i appreciate your help and the help of others but please keep your comments constructive.

Cheers

Scott

Re: Dipstick question

I am at my wits end after four years and may have finally come up with an answer to some of the things that have plagued my boat since purchase.

Click to expand...

Ayuh,... What I would do is,...
Drain the base, drop in 4 quarts of oil, 'n mark the dipstick where that level is,...
Then add the other 1/2 quart for the filter, 'n Run it....

I'm bettin' yer Problem will be solved...

Re: Dipstick question

Sure, post some pictures, maybe someone has one like it and will know. What I meant, and I sure didn't say it right, is that with nothing to compare it to, it won't do much good to look at them. But maybe we can find a way to lower the tube to get it within range.

Here are the two dipsticks, the one on the right has the 34 and 27 dimensions reversed.

Re: Dipstick question

Drain the base, drop in 4 quarts of oil, 'n mark the dipstick where that level is,...

Click to expand...

That was what I was going to suggest, but it doesn't hit the stick till 6L.

Re: Dipstick question

Don S said:

That was what I was going to suggest, but it doesn't hit the stick till 6L.

Click to expand...

Ayuh,... I missed that part...

In that case, I'd build a New Longer dipstick that would hit the bottom of the base, then trim off enough so's it don't...
Then do as I said before...

I've lost track of the number of dipsticks I've built over the years,...
Old Speedo cable works Great, although it's gettin' harder to find...

Re: Dipstick question

I'd use a straight piece of stiff wire (coat hanger, mechanics wire) and insert it into the dipstick tube to see how far it is from the bottom of the pan to the top of the tube, and where the oil level is at. Compare the measurements with the drawing DonS posted and see what you can figure out.

Kind of sounds like the engine has the short stick when it should have the long one....

Re: Dipstick question

Kind of sounds like the engine has the short stick when it should have the long one....

Click to expand...

Or the tube was installed and bent to be higher and easier to get to.

Re: Dipstick question

Ok guys I have reduced the oil volume to 4.3 liters and hasn't that made a big difference? No more loss of oil pressure no more lifters rattling and no more oily fumes. Biggest difference is the power, I have never thought there was much power from this engine until today. An increase of 800 rpm's absolutely amazing. For the last 4 years I have read forums about people with the same engine similar boat easily doing 80km's per hour(roughly 40 knots) and me getting nowhere near that all the while propping down to a mercury vengeance 17" prop to be able to wakeboard, now I will need to go back to the 19" staino that came with it.
I will now either fashion a dipstick or shorten the dipstick tube so that my levels are read correctly.
Thank you to all of you with your invaluable input.

Cheers
Scott

Re: Dipstick question

Are you checking your oil while in the water? Or on the trailer? Could be a big difference.

Re: Dipstick question

jimh1626 said:

Are you checking your oil while in the water? Or on the trailer? Could be a big difference.

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Sounds to me you have a lot of crankcase pressure....try running a breather on the valve cover, my pulling tractor would blow the dipstick off the tube I installed 2 breathers never had a problem since....what's your oil pressure at for psi at full rpm ?

Re: Dipstick question

jimh1626 and red_fx4 read all the replies, not just the original post.

Re: Dipstick question

I did read them all. Just saw where he had it on high idle. Didn't say it was in the water, could have been on muffs. Just offering a suggestion, but I will make sure I want to next time.