NHGuy
Captain
- Joined
- May 21, 2009
- Messages
- 3,631
I have run the boat all of 30 minutes this season. 25 minutes from the launch ramp to my slip at around 2500 rpm.
And today it was beautiful out so my daughter and I thought we would go for a ride.
Normal start, ran it up to 2500 or 2800. The water was so smooth, so I gave her some gas. Everything looked and sounded great. I ran it up to the speed limit which is 45 mph, the motor was only spinning around 3500 or somewhere around there. When I looked down, oh no, oil gauge is zeroed. I grabbed the stick and shut it down. Checked the oil, perfect level. Wiggled the connections to the gauge, nothing. So I got a tow in and brought it home.
I tried a mechanical oil gauge, it stayed down there. I also tried a few shots of air down the oil sender hole but nothing. I tried leaving the mechanical gauge plastic tube hooked up and ran the motor and got a tiny little bit of oil. Maybe a pound or 3 of pressure. Normally I get 40 psi cold at 800 or 1000 rpm with fresh 40 weight Pennzoil. The idle pressure drops off to 15 or 25 after the motor gets warm.
I put an ohmmeter on the sender, it was a perfect 259 at zero pressure.
Here is some background, I pulled the motor last fall and changed the oil pan gasket and a lot of the other gaskets too.
I fear that I botched the reinstall of the oil pump cover somehow. I will confess that I put vaseline in the pump gears as a priming assistant.
I don't recall touching the pickup screen & tube because the Merc manual says stay away. But I also don't recall even touching the oil pump cover at all. I must have had it off though, how else could I have vaselined the pump gears. That was last fall. So it's fuzzy in my memory.
I'm about ready to pull the motor, but I though I'd put it out there for discussion. I guess I will change the oil filter first just to eliminate it as a concern, but that would surprise me.
Man, I was so ready to do some boating!
And today it was beautiful out so my daughter and I thought we would go for a ride.
Normal start, ran it up to 2500 or 2800. The water was so smooth, so I gave her some gas. Everything looked and sounded great. I ran it up to the speed limit which is 45 mph, the motor was only spinning around 3500 or somewhere around there. When I looked down, oh no, oil gauge is zeroed. I grabbed the stick and shut it down. Checked the oil, perfect level. Wiggled the connections to the gauge, nothing. So I got a tow in and brought it home.
I tried a mechanical oil gauge, it stayed down there. I also tried a few shots of air down the oil sender hole but nothing. I tried leaving the mechanical gauge plastic tube hooked up and ran the motor and got a tiny little bit of oil. Maybe a pound or 3 of pressure. Normally I get 40 psi cold at 800 or 1000 rpm with fresh 40 weight Pennzoil. The idle pressure drops off to 15 or 25 after the motor gets warm.
I put an ohmmeter on the sender, it was a perfect 259 at zero pressure.
Here is some background, I pulled the motor last fall and changed the oil pan gasket and a lot of the other gaskets too.
I fear that I botched the reinstall of the oil pump cover somehow. I will confess that I put vaseline in the pump gears as a priming assistant.
I don't recall touching the pickup screen & tube because the Merc manual says stay away. But I also don't recall even touching the oil pump cover at all. I must have had it off though, how else could I have vaselined the pump gears. That was last fall. So it's fuzzy in my memory.
I'm about ready to pull the motor, but I though I'd put it out there for discussion. I guess I will change the oil filter first just to eliminate it as a concern, but that would surprise me.
Man, I was so ready to do some boating!
