Oil Leaks

Just noticed that I was missing a bolt here I don't know why wtf
 

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BillK2632 said:
As others have said that reservoir is your power steering. There are hoses that run back to the steering rack in the back of the motor, they also run the fluid through a cooler. The hoses are rubber and they are pressurized and can leak. The PS cooler can fail, when it does, PS fluid will go out of the exhaust, you won't see a leak inside the boat. Hopefully it's just a hose leaking. You need to get to the bottom of it and fix it.
As far as engine smoking, assuming from the exhaust? Or is it that leaking PS fluid getting on something hot had smoking from the engine itself? I will say, these older Mercs - the 3.0 and 4.3 (like I had in my SR) usually have the 2bbl Mercarb which is known to be set a little rich. The will smoke some at idle, you might even see some fuel rainbow in the exhaust. My 4.3 smoked like cheech and chong on a cold start with the choke set. Blue smoke is oil burning, white smoke is water/antifreeze. White smoke can be bad (ie headgasket) or it could just be vapor from hot exhaust water mixing with cooler seawater. Grey/fuel smelling smoke is a rich running engine and not necessarily bad and common for the Mercarb engines. Blue is burning oil and again, if it is not excessive is probably just an older engine starting show it's age and some wear. Smoke can be tricky, but in general a LOT of smoke is not good, a little bit could just be an old engine. On a 26yr old boat, unless it starts really using oil, or the oil becomes milky or it is really smoking a lot, I just would not worry too much as long as it is running ok. Even halfway taken care of, that GM 3.0 is a solid motor that should run a long time.
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I really wish I understood everything here but I dont. I am trying to clean it up now but I don't know where to look
 
And another missing screw I don't know if it was like this originally or what these screws for but I'm missing them
 

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Althepal78 said:
And another missing screw I don't know if it was like this originally or what these screws for but I'm missing them
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That's not a missing screw, engines have various bolt holes on them so different "users" can bolt on different accessories. That same engine was used in some GM cars and small trucks so they would have bolted things like exhaust, alternators etc on differently.

Wish I could explain things better for you, here is the bottom line - find the leak, if you can fix it fine, if not find a mechanic who can. As for the smoke if it is a little and the thing runs ok, don't worry about it, if it is a lot, get that same mechanic to look at it for you. If you are not a mechanical / engine guy, that's fine, but having an older boat, you need to find someone who is that can help you. You DO need to understand some basics - checking fluids, checking for leaks etc - for example, I can tell from one of your pictures that you are low on gear lube for the outdrive.
 
BillK2632 said:
That's not a missing screw, engines have various bolt holes on them so different "users" can bolt on different accessories. That same engine was used in some GM cars and small trucks so they would have bolted things like exhaust, alternators etc on differently.

Wish I could explain things better for you, here is the bottom line - find the leak, if you can fix it fine, if not find a mechanic who can. As for the smoke if it is a little and the thing runs ok, don't worry about it, if it is a lot, get that same mechanic to look at it for you. If you are not a mechanical / engine guy, that's fine, but having an older boat, you need to find someone who is that can help you. You DO need to understand some basics - checking fluids, checking for leaks etc - for example, I can tell from one of your pictures that you are low on gear lube for the outdrive.
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Its not low my boat is on an incline but thanks. I have a mechanic who was supposed to be coming today but they not. So that is that
 
BillK2632 said:
That's not a missing screw, engines have various bolt holes on them so different "users" can bolt on different accessories. That same engine was used in some GM cars and small trucks so they would have bolted things like exhaust, alternators etc on differently.

Wish I could explain things better for you, here is the bottom line - find the leak, if you can fix it fine, if not find a mechanic who can. As for the smoke if it is a little and the thing runs ok, don't worry about it, if it is a lot, get that same mechanic to look at it for you. If you are not a mechanical / engine guy, that's fine, but having an older boat, you need to find someone who is that can help you. You DO need to understand some basics - checking fluids, checking for leaks etc - for example, I can tell from one of your pictures that you are low on gear lube for the outdrive.
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Yeah I might need to add a little more to that didn't pay attention but it is near the fill line. The smoke is coming from the steering fluid spilling on the engine
 
So I went and bought some power steering fluid and somebody was suppose to come thru to help me but never showed. I still can't find out where it's leaking but did not leak as bad :(
 
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