Oil-Gas or Water in Carb?

[zul]

Last year, I was getting a small amount of blow-by leaking oil. Consensus was, no big deal. This season begins with excessive oil blow by and adding quite a bit of oil to keep the trip rolling. Plenty of oil in the bilge area. Oil on the dip stick looks good, dark and no sign of water in there.

Today, I pull the covers off the carb and find everything looking clean in there. Except for the very front of the carb (in the rounded cup area), there is what appears to be a combo of oil and gas ... that's my best guess anyhow.

Panic or WTF?!?

The boat has started fine, run fine -- just one short moment where I was taking off to plane -- when adding to the throttle it lost some power and then kicked right back in (it did that twice and not again over a 10-day trip). So, I'd like to think that the running operation is just fine, except for that.

Temp gauge has been at the same place as always. Oil pressure gauge has dropped from it's normal position (60) down to 35 and 40. Not normal. But eventually comes up to 50 after running cruising speed for 40-50 minutes.

I've had to add 3/4 quart of oil a few times. At one point, I added too much and went above the Full line on dip stick. That is when the worst of the blow by was occurring.

All of these problems have gone away a bit. But I would be a fool to think everything was 'normal'.

Please help me avoid engine failure, re-build or run-away. I've done a ton of research and the suggestions are all over the place.

Help?! Or ideas?!

 

[zul]

[No message]

 

[Bondo]

At one point, I added too much and went above the Full line on dip stick. That is when the worst of the blow by was occurring.

Ayuh,..... A quart over is way worse than a quart under,.....

It is what it is,.... the wonky oil pressure should be looked at,.... gauge wirin' is my Guess,....
A compression test would be wise too,....

 

[zul]

It's a few weeks until I can get the compression test done. Mid-June, I have my mechanic lined up. I do have one short trip scheduled between now and then ... hoping that I am not taking a big risk in running 10 - 12 hours before my mechanic can dial things in for my boat?? On this trip, I'll be sure to have extra oil on hand. After this trip, oil change, water and oil filters plus some mechanic time.

Thoughts?!

 

[Scott Danforth]

fix your boat before you use it.

your first post is asking for help to avoid engine failure.....so fix it before you use it.

with your fluctuating power, my first thought is your fuel pump is failing and flooding your crank case oil with fuel. if that is the case, then your 10-12 hours will result in a toasted engine, a really expensive tow and lots of frustration.

• pull your plugs, get a compression reading - if all your cylinders are within 5% of each other and about 150 psi, you have good rings and valves, however if a cylinder or two is really high (rust or water in that cylinder) or really low (leaking rings or valves) then you need to do a leak-down test.
• send some oil in for analysis
• verify your gauge wiring, however a mechanical gauge should be used to verify its readings.

 

[JoLin]

Plenty of oil in the bilge area.

Excessive blow-by could be from overfilling. "Plenty of oil in the bilge" is from either a spill or a leak, which could also be the reason you have to keep adding it. Oil pressure- did you change oil weight? Low viscosity in an old engine can cause oil pressure and consumption issues. Eliminate the simple stuff first.

My .02

 

[zul]

I've been using the same oil 25w-40 Quicksilver. My mechanic may be able to diagnose/compression test this weekend.

Sounds like I'll have to cxl that trip... thanks for the advice.