Oil Problem

[millz90]

Ok so i took the boat out this morning and when i was heading back to the dock i heard a ping or shss..like pressure was lost...i stopped the boat pulled the enginge hatch up to see 3 quarts of oil sprayed ALL over the engine compartment....SH**T

So i was almost to the short so i kept going slowly know i didnt have any oil in the engine but it wasnt ticking yet and i didnt want to have to pay for a tow....the oil pressure gauge was on 0 not even reading anything....i took the plug out and seriously about 4 quarts of oil came out.....

Questions i have:
1. The engine never quit running but it did start to tick a little...should it be alright once i get oil in it?

2. After looking for the problem i say on the oil filter that the gasket was coming out on one side like when it was tightend on it smushed out of the side...im assuming that was the issue, and the engine lost compression leaking oil EVERY where. Does that sound right?

3. What type of oill should i put in and how many quarters....?

4. How do i find out what oil filter to put on? Could the guy who put it on had the wrong filter?

Any help would be appreciated.....

Sorry the boat is 1995 Sea Ray 175 series....Mercruiser 3.0L
Millz90

 

[Dick Whetstone]

It is NEVER a good idea to run an engine with an oil pressure reading of zero. Now that you have, I will try to answer your questions.

Mercruiser recommends their 25W-40 oil. If possible that is what you should put in it. I have 3 Mercruisers. One is a 1965 110 HP 4 cylinder and one is a 1986 5.0 V8. They both have run their entire lives on 15W-40 Rotella and both still run "as new". In my 2001 270 Sea Ray with the 7.4 engine I only run Mercuriser 25W-40.

I don't know anything about a 3.0 but most smaller Mercruisers take 4-5 quarts. Either check the owners manual or put in 4 quarts and check the dip stick. If it reads FULL then you are OK. If it does not read FULL add another quart or so until it reads FULL. Check the oil level after running the engine for a while.

I have heard of oil filters splitting etc, but it has never happened to me.

Nobody on this forum can tell whether you damaged the engine or not by running it out of oil. One thing for sure is you did not do it any good.

My suggestion is to completely drain the oil, change the oil filter, fill the engine with fresh oil, and CAREFULLY run it at low RPMs for a while. Watch the oil pressure gage and the temp gage for any abnormal readings and listen carefully to see if the engine makes any abnormal noises.

After an hour or so of running the engine I would remove the oil filter and cut it open and examine the paper pleats to see if any metal is in the filter. If metal is in the filter, you probably ruined the engine. If no metal is in the filter, I would drain the oil again looking for metal particles, install fresh oil, and a new oil filter.

If all is OK so far about the only thing you can do is run the boat and listen for any unusual sounds from the engine and keep your eye on the oil pressure and the temp gages.

 

[millz90]

Sounds good. Thanks for the reply.

I just got a new oil filter today and it was a LOT smaller than the one on it. I think the guy that winterized my boat last winter didnt do ANYTHING right and had the wrong filter on it.
I will do what you said and see what the outcome is. I have my fingers crossed thats for sure.

 

[fc3]

How long did you run the engine without oil pressure? When you removed what plug 4 quarts came out of what? If you removed four quarts of oil from the engine, then you have another problem since the pressure gauge was reading zero.

If you ran the engine for several minutes with zero oil pressure, you probably did some harm to the engine. The extent is hard to determine, but generally one finds that tows are cheaper the engine rebuilds.

 

[SevenTeas]

Are you sure it was oil and not water that drained out?

How much have you run the boat this year? It is possible that you had way too much oil in the engine and that is what caused the filter seal failure.

0 oil pressure is way bad.

 

[millz90]

i have only had the bout out a once this year as i have been rebuilding it.

yes im sure it was oil...the stick was dry when i took it out and the liquid was black. I put a new filter on and it started right up and didnt sound bad at all so i might have got lucky.....

 

[Jimmy Buoy]

Did you ensure that there wasn't a second rubber gasket stuck on the filter mount base? I wouldn't be the first time that a filter was removed and the old rubber gasket stuck to the motor side of things. That can cause a gasket "blow out" situation.