Oil issues with 5.0 mercruiser

[Dutchlarson]

Hi everyone,

I took my boat for a spin today. Its a 2003 Larson 210lxi with a 5.0 mercruiser.

Just out of curiosity i checked the oil, but it seemed the stick was clean. There seemd to be some clear oil on the last inch of the stick. It scared me a bit, but on the other hand, it just had an oil change at the dealer, and i check it with a hot engine just after. I turned it off.

Could it be that the oil is just very clean and also very liquid because the engine was still hot?

I turned it back on, and the oil pressure seemed also a bit high, around 55psi when idle.

What do you guys think? Then engine runs and sounds normal.

 

[flipbro]

55 psi is normal on a fresh oil change. And i guessing the oil is just clean

 

[Scott Danforth]

Oil would all be the same color. Your dipstick could just be dirty.

I would check it again

 

[Dutchlarson]

So, update...

This morning i checked the oil again. Looked good to me.

I went for a spin and after an hour the engine suddenly made a horrible noise, and died. I opened the engine cover and there was oil everywhere

No idea what to do now. A friend towed me to the nearest dock and i left it there.

 

[Bondo]

but on the other hand, it just had an oil change at the dealer,
No idea what to do now. A friend towed me to the nearest dock and i left it there.

Ayuh,.... Unless yer wantin' to get yer hands dirty, 'n figure it out for yerself,.....

I suggest ya call yer Dealer,.....

 

[Dutchlarson]

But what do you guys think it could be?

It sounded like the whole engine was blown. It would not crank anymore also.

And what could be the cause? I just got a completely new outdrive installed at my dealer. From the moment i picked it up i noticed the boat sounded different and it would not have the same top speed as it did.

Is there any possibility that he placed the wrong outdrive, for example a wrong ratio?

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... Questions that can't be answered without diagnosis,.....

 

[Dutchlarson]

Ok, so partial diagnosis, there is a hole in the lower block so the engine is completely blown.

But my most important question is: Can this have any relation with the new outdrive?

From the moment the new outdrive was mounted, the boat sounded different. It also seemed to be a bit slower. I phoned my dealer again and he assured me not to worry. The engine always ran great. No oil consumtion, no weird sounds, just a good solid engine. Now, less then 1 hour after this repair the engine is blown.

 

[Silvertip]

Oil all over the engine can be a catch 22 (chicken and egg) situation in that which came first. Oil all over could be due to the dufus that did the oil change did not realize he/she left the original oil filter gasket in place and when installing the new filter resulted in a second gasket being installed. That will guarantee failure of the seal and dumping oil all over. Unless you pay attention to the gauges (oil pressure in this case) you would not know that this is happening. So oil starvation takes out the rod and/or main bearings, the engine seizes, a rod breaks and punches a hole in the block. A failed outdrive could suddenly stop the engine and at higher speed, result in a broken rod/rods which also punches a hole in the block. As was pointed out, you need a qualified tech other than the service facility you had this work done at, inspect (do not disassemble anything) to determine what actually happened. You probably have legal recourse if workmanship is the culprit. As a final suggestion, you said you checked the oil out of curiosity. You should check the oil before EVERY outing. Engines can and do consume a bit of oil because they under extreme load all the time. That and checking oil pressure and water temperature gauges FREQUENTLY are part of operating a boat and will ensure events like this don't happen. An engine will live a very short time without oil. Your gauge would tell you that pressure has dropped and that may due to lack of oil or impending engine failure.