1992 searay engine oil leak

[omario]

Hi,<br />I baught a 1992 Sea Ray 180 bowrider with a mercruiser 4 cyl.<br /><br />OK, heres what happend:<br />I took the boat out for a test drive, it ran very nice for about 10 minutes, suddenly It started leaking engine oil into the bilge. It seemed it was leaking from the area below or behind the oil filter but it is hard to see. Whenever I drove slower, it would stop leaking. But the faster I drove the more it leaked. <br /><br /> Update: I ran it again and the leak seems to be coming from the harmonic ballancer area. It is dripping on the belts because the belts are splashing the oil arround. <br /><br />Can anyone tip me of what the problem might be and where to start troubleshooting?<br /><br />Thank you

 

[Northern Eclipse]

Re: 1992 searay engine oil leak

Loose or wrong size oil filter or a faulty gasket between the oil filter housing and block, I'v also seen cheap oil filters that leak or even split at the seams, I actually blew a filter clean off a 351 Cleveland I had in a 71 Mustang I once had, thought I'd save a few pennies with no-name filter, almost cost me a $3000 motor. but did cost me a $125 tow home.

 

[omario]

Re: 1992 searay engine oil leak

Update: <br />Thanks for your reply.<br /><br />I ran the engine again to look for the leak. It is not from the filter. It is coming from the area around the harmonic ballancer. It is dripping on the belt somewhere and the belt is splashing the oil all around the engine. <br /><br />Is there some sort of seal down there? Is it hard to replace?

 

[qystan]

Re: 1992 searay engine oil leak

I had a Quicksilver oil filter that punctured a 1 mm hole and all 5 litres of oil was gone from my 5.7 Merc in less than a minute. It was the time between starting the engine and going up onto plane. Filter was less than a few months old with no sign of any rust.<br /><br />Remove the filter and take a look or try changing the filter.