Mercruiser blew out all the oil from oil pan

[halltrail]

Ugh, I started up the boat for the season, after about 10 mins of running on muffs the oil sensor went off and oil pressure dropped below 20psi. Yeap, oil all in the bilge and appears to be be spraying out under pressure while running from bottom front of the oil pan. Oil pan is not rusty. Looks to be coming from two spots...one on a seam where the bottom meets the side of the pan and one on the bottom? Any thoughts on this? Pan doesnt appear to have any rust on it at all.

Just wondering other than pulling the engine and replacing the pan and pump...what other things could be going on....for example, why would oil be under that much pressure in the pan that its spraying out?

Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated.

2001 4.3l carb mercruiser 200 hours (sat for a long time) Serial number 0m008448

Thanks,
Dave

 

[airshot]

Does it have an oil cooler? To be under pressure is puzzling..

 

[Bt Doctur]

doubt its the oil pump or pan .I think the timing cover (if plastic) has cracked under the harmonic balancer seal

 

[halltrail]

It does not have an oil cooler...and I wish it was the timing cover. I will have to look again...but im almost 95% sure that the i saw and felt the oil spray coming from the oil pan. I could see the oil spray/stream coming from the oil pan. Unless I just wasnt seeing it correctly. I will check the timing cover closer though to be sure.

 

[GA_Boater]

Check the oil level and see if the oil looks milky. More of a guess than anything.

 

[halltrail]

I will check the dip stick...but the oil in the bilge was black and not milky.

 

[Newbie@boats]

My guess would be timing cover does the motor have excessive blow by?

 

[wrench 3]

Any chance of a picture of were you think it's coming from?

 

[thumpar]

It is not likely coming from the oil pan if it is under pressure. You would have to have a HUGE amount of blowby or it would be after the oil pump.

 

[Rick Stephens]

Only way I can think of oil blowing out under pressure might be from too much oil in the pan and the crank throwing it through a gasket. Easy check anyway.

 

[halltrail]

I don't think I have any oil blow by...I'll take a pic of where I think it is coming from tonight or tomorrow am.

 

[flipbro]

My guess is have a look at your oil filter. Possibly loose. Bad seal or maybe rusted through.. Just a thought.

 

[halltrail]

Flipbro, Im going to check that tonight if its not raining. Ill just change it. Is it normal for an oil filter to go bad in a saltwater boat that fast. I changed it last spring? Anyways, I was wondering about the oil filter. The oil appears to be spraying from back to front. It could have been coming from oil filter directions and bouncing off the oil pan. So hard to see down in there. Im going to try and find a bigger mirror...maybe one made for a sun visor to see better.

I will try and get an actual picture but here is where I thought It was spraying out of...unless it was coming from somewhere else...I did try and locate by feel for spray coming from the filter but didnt feel it. I did check the easy out oil line...it appeared to be fine so did the pressure switch area. Most of those parts are only 2 years old.

 

[alldodge]

Does your remote oil filter and lines run along that side of the motor?

 

[halltrail]

Hey AllDodge, I can answer that one quickly I dont have the remote oil filter...and yes it can be a bit of a pain in the butt to get that filter changed...the filter is on the port side bottom of the engine. I have a very dry bilge so I dont think any salt water is getting to the oil filter to make it rust fast even though filter is low. But, with the filter down where it is, I can only hope that maybe I missed the oil spray coming from the filter...

 

[halltrail]

looking back at Ricks post, It sounds like I should not have pressure in the oil pan to make it spray out like it is...Oil level wasnt too high...so should be good there.....

 

[alldodge]

The oil pressure switch/sensor next to the filter may have a crack in it and be spraying it forward. Just a guess

 

[halltrail]

alldodge, thanks again..i will be sure to check that area closer tonight.

 

[Bt Doctur]

as posted the only places that are pressurized are the oil filter, the oil sender and the oil pressure switch for the fuel pump.

 

[wrench 3]

The most common cause of oil filter leaks is someone leaving the old gasket stuck to the engine when they install the new filter. Then again I've been in the business long enough to have run into two spin on filters with a bad crimp from the factory.