Oil Leak?

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thinwater
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Oil Leak?

Post by thinwater »

One of my 9.9s resently started drinking oil, about 1 pint every 3 hours. It runs just fine and does not smoke at all.
Is there a common leak senario?


I've gotten used to running on one engine; much quieter, fuel efficient, and nearly as fast. However, we need 2 for docking. In fact, if it means pulling the engine, I may be running on one engine until I haul the boat in a year. It is still there, when I need it.
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amytom
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Re: Oil Leak?

Post by amytom »

I would pull the plugs and inspect. If they are blacker than normal or fouling then you are probably leaking past the rings or valve seals. I'd also look at the oil on the dipstick check for discoloration due to water, if the base plate was leaking then you could end up with water in the oil and loosing oil into the water, this should be fixed soon or severe damage wil probably happen. If it's just leaking out (should be quite a mess somewhere) you can get away for awhile with top-offs.

While I'm not an eco-nut, keep in mind that the oil is going somewhere and the only somewhere I can think of is the water you're enjoying.
Marc Gershel
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Re: Oil Leak?

Post by Marc Gershel »

I seem to have the same thing. I'm not burning oil, but minor leaking, until last week. I was motoring for about 2 hours, when the engine dropped down to a slow rough idle. I thouht it was a fuel problem, but when I checked the oil, it was empty. After adding oil, it ran perfectly, for 2 hours. Obviously my minor leak just became major. I'll pull the engine next week to try to see what happened, and report back. If anyone else had a similar problem, I'd like to know how you solved it.
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Re: Oil Leak?

Post by Allezcat »

Mark, Is there any oil slick in the water? The older 9.9's had problems with the crankcase corroding through from the hot exhaust water impinging on it. If so it involves removing the powerhead to get at the pan( a BIG job).

Chet
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Marc Gershel
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Re: Oil Leak?

Post by Marc Gershel »

Hi Chet, I think you nailed it. That's exactly the symptoms. I think it may be time to look for a replacement. The engine has 1600+ hours, and I don't think it's worth putting in the work.
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Hole in the crankcase.

Post by thinwater »

Allezcat wrote:Mark, Is there any oil slick in the water? The older 9.9's had problems with the crankcase corroding through from the hot exhaust water impinging on it. If so it involves removing the powerhead to get at the pan( a BIG job).

Chet
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Actually, a main oil seal failure. It only leaked when running. No dock-side slick, no going down overnight. Since I had 2 second-hand motors on hand, I did not try to fix it.

I stripped all of the useable parts including the lower unit (which made it MUCH lighter) and threw it in the dumpster. It was a good class in 9.9 repair - now I have a very good idea of how to take most of the engine apart and just what I can tackle on the water.
Writing full time since 2014.
"Rigging Modern Anchors,"Seaworthy Press, https://www.amazon.com/Rigging-Modern-A ... 1948494078
Book Store. http://sail-delmarva.blogspot.com/2017/ ... store.html
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