Volvo Penta runs great but burns oil

[Pavpav]

I have a 2007 VP 3.0 GLP-E that suffered numerous oveheats. When I start the engine cold I see a bit of blue smoke that goes away as engine warms up, but I can smell a bit of burned oil even when the engine is warm. I changed the oil about 10 hours ago, and by the looks of it, I will need to change it again in another 10 hours. (I run the boat mostly on plain at 3500RPM) I assume I need new stem seals?

Also, there's no VP service in BC, Canada, so any help is much appreciated.

I bought this boat with brand-new raw pump and a stray piece of previous(!) impeller floating in the system. So once a while that piece would block the thermostat bypass hole and cause an overheat. It overheated on me, probably, 10 times before I finally found the problem, and I don't know how many times it overheated on previous owner before he decided to get rid of the boat.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... It's more likely the rings are shot, 'n yer motor needs a rebuild,.....
Do a compression, 'n leak-down test to see what's goin' on with it,....

 

[Scott Danforth]

The multiple overheats did many things:

Collapse pistons
Egg-shape cylinder bores
Wear bearings
Score the crank
Wear valve guides
Burn rubber bits out of exhaust system

The cure for this is a full rebuild of the motor or get a replacement motor

Buy new rubber bits for the exhaust system

 

[Pavpav]

Ok I got 165-170psi on all 4. I think I'll skip on engine rebuild for now.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Check your gauge, anything more than 150 psi means your gauge is off or you have oil in the cylinders

 

[Scott06]

I have a 2007 VP 3.0 GLP-E that suffered numerous oveheats. When I start the engine cold I see a bit of blue smoke that goes away as engine warms up, but I can smell a bit of burned oil even when the engine is warm. I changed the oil about 10 hours ago, and by the looks of it, I will need to change it again in another 10 hours. (I run the boat mostly on plain at 3500RPM) I assume I need new stem seals?

Also, there's no VP service in BC, Canada, so any help is much appreciated.

I bought this boat with brand-new raw pump and a stray piece of previous(!) impeller floating in the system. So once a while that piece would block the thermostat bypass hole and cause an overheat. It overheated on me, probably, 10 times before I finally found the problem, and I don't know how many times it overheated on previous owner before he decided to get rid of the boat.

What makes you think the oil needs to be changed? Is it black? You may be getting fuel in there via running overly rich carb wise or if you may have fuel coming in via the fuel pump diagraphragm if ruptured.

 

[Pavpav]

What makes you think the oil needs to be changed? Is it black? You may be getting fuel in there via running overly rich carb wise or if you may have fuel coming in via the fuel pump diagraphragm if ruptured.

the spark plugs are nice, clean and dry, not running rich, I don't think, efficiency is perfect. the oil turns dark brown way too quick. Plus exhaust really smells when cold

 

[Pavpav]

Check your gauge, anything more than 150 psi means your gauge is off or you have oil in the cylinders

what if oil in cylinders? what does that mean? I guess could be anything?

 

[Scott06]

the spark plugs are nice, clean and dry, not running rich, I don't think, efficiency is perfect. the oil turns dark brown way too quick. Plus exhaust really smells when cold

Smells when cold implies overly rich and choke carb needs adjustment

 

[Pavpav]

Smells when cold implies overly rich and choke carb needs adjustment

100% not it, but thanks for the input.

 

[Pavpav]

I've put on another 3 hours onto the engine and it looks like the burning oil is the only problem with it. I'm gonna go ahead and replace the seals.
The VP part number is 3854956, but how do I cross-reference it to GM?
Or should I buy more-expensive VP?

 

[Scott Danforth]

take head to local machine shop. machine shop has seals on the shelf.