Oil Leak 3lt 135hp need advice in repairing

[Mark RSA2AU]

Hi Guys

I have an oil leak on my 3lt. I have used an oil absorbent mat ( Used for oil spills) under the motor and it looks like the leak is comming from the area under the crank shaft. It is not any of the hoses or the drive lube oil as none of any of the other fluid levels are dropping, but the engine oil is.
:smt089
Could it be the sump gasket, or more likely the seal arround the crank shaft? Is the crankshaft seal a major job or is there another fix other than removal and replacement?

its not serious now but it will only get worse over time and going into winter for us down under I need to get it done.

Thanks

 

[Lazy Daze]

It could be any number of things. In addition to what you mentioned, things like oil pressure sender or even the oil filter. Could even be a valve cover seeping and letting the oil trickle down. Maybe even the oil pan, itself, is rusted. What you need to do is track down the leak. If you can't see an obvious trail, start by using a few cans of brake cleaner and thoroughly get all the oil off it. Next, monitor closely for the leak - start by looking every 5 minutes and continue from there. Depending on which seating plan you have, you may want to remove some things for better access. Also, a mirror-on-a-stick and flashlight will be of big help. You might even find that strategically placing some rags will help you narrow it down (of course, make sure they won't get pulled into the belts).

On the plus side, removing that little 4-banger is a pretty easy job. I've helped remove a few over the years and while I can't give you step-by-steps since I was just the "extra hand", I can tell you that each time I was amazed at just how fast it popped out of there.

 

[Bubble1066]

Hi, I had the same model. I had to weld repair a hole in the sump and replace he timing chain cover. I ended up buying the timing chain cover from autozone (only needed to cut off the timing marks from my old cover and bolt it on with the new one). It was a straight forward repair.

 

[Mark RSA2AU]

Gave the motor a clean down with engine degreaser and high pressure hose to check again. I am sure it is leaking from behind the belts somewhere and only leaks when it is running.

The absorbent mat is white and I can easily see where most of the oil is comming from, directly under the crankshaft.
Once it is all dry under there I will get underneath with a mirror / flashlight and check it out again... bit tricky with it running but gotta be done!

 

[CliffA]

Gave the motor a clean down with engine degreaser and high pressure hose to check again. I am sure it is leaking from behind the belts somewhere and only leaks when it is running.

The absorbent mat is white and I can easily see where most of the oil is comming from, directly under the crankshaft.
Once it is all dry under there I will get underneath with a mirror / flashlight and check it out again... bit tricky with it running but gotta be done!

you may not need to observe the under side of the engine while it is running....there should be enough residue left from the leak to identify the source of the leak...by using a mirror and light you should be able to see all around the engine...

 

[Lazy Daze]

Right - don't need to do it while it's running. The evidence will still be there when you turn it off. What you don't want to do is wait too long as the more it seeps out and around could make it hard to ID the source. Try after 5 minutes - then another 5, etc.

 

[Gunn]

Good luck! I too have the same engine and a small oil leak too. For the life of me, I have never been able to find it. Near impossible to see under that engine. And I keep my engine and bilge area clean! I hate that it leaks, but it is not bad (I never have to add oil). I've thought that even if I removed the engine, I probably still wouldn't be able to find it. At that point, I'd probably just do a complete rebuild and replace all the gaskets.

Keep us updated, as I'd like to know if you find the culprit of the actual leak, and how you ended up finding it.

Tom

 

[Mark RSA2AU]

A quick update, having to pull the motor out, seems to be leaking from front seals, dipstick, valve cover, and anywhere else oil is on the inside trying to get out...

Will be assesing the cost to repair vs replacing... Not a happy camper!!! and I put a hole in the hull last weekend......
BOAT= Bring On Another Thousand.

 

[beernutz]

I don't want to hijack your thread but I have a related question and since there are some knowledgeable folks reading this thread I'll ask it here.

A few weeks ago after a very rough 40 mile ride over intercoastal waters during a storm I seem to have picked up an engine oil leak which was discovered on our subsequent trip out when the low oil pressure alarm when off after just a few minutes of running time. Today I took the boat to a local marine repair shop and the owner, who claims to deal with SeaRays a lot (he only had four other boats on his lot but one of them was a 2000 Sundeck), says that a very likely cause is a rust hole in the oil pan. He says he seen many of these in both Volvo and Mercruiser engines of the type and approximate age of mine.

He his going to get his mirror and check out my engine but if the cause is the rusted oil pan, his remedy is to pull the engine and replace or repair the oil pan, then coat the bottom of the engine with what he described as something similar to a pickup truck bed liner coating. I've never used this repair place before, it was recommended by a fellow SeaRay owner/friend, but he seems legit. I was just curious as to his claim that this type problem is 'very common' in boats of the same engine type and era as mine.