Oil Leak

[MH9371B]

Engine is 1995 Merc. 3.0 LX 135HP<br /><br />I have been noticing a lot of oil building up in my bilge recently. So much so that I actually lost oil pressure on the last trip out. I have checked the bottom of the oil pan with a mirror and notice no signs of corrosion whatsoever, the sides near the timing chain cover are dry, and it appears as if the drip is coming straight down from where the oil filter is. I replaced the oil filter myself, did not tighten with a wrench, I just simply hand tightened it as tight as I possibly could. Also made sure to run oil around the gasket before screwing it on.<br /><br />Any ideas?

 

[Laddies]

Re: Oil Leak

Ck and see if the old gasket stuck on the block

 

[Bondo]

Re: Oil Leak

If you ran your oil Dry,<br />It would seem the oil leak will be Very Easy to find...........<br />Take the filter back off,+ See What's the matter...........<br />2 Gaskets will do it Everytime..........<br /><br />Don't you Check your oil, Each time out ?????

 

[MH9371B]

Re: Oil Leak

Sure do check the oil every time. Before, it was just a drip or two which didn't concern me. Then after the loss of oil pressure noticed quite a bit in the bilge.<br /><br />I'll check the gasket, thanks!

 

[KaGee]

Re: Oil Leak

Hope you shut down the engine in time. Otherwise, forget about finding the leak. You'll be looking for another engine!

 

[trog100]

Re: Oil Leak

thats a heck of a lot of oil to leak.. from full level on the dip-stick to the point where the pump dosnt pick up would need a loss of about half a gallon..<br /><br />as long as oil is being picked up by the pump its basically doing its job.. but as soon as that critical level (usually off the end of the dipstick) gets reached at high throttle openings u get instant destruction..<br /><br />oil does two basic things.. it lubricates and perhaps more importantly it cools bearing surfaces.. your main and big-end bearing shells are steel coated in what is basically a lead/tin alloy.. this stuff melts (turns to liquid) at quite low temperatures.. it then throws out the side of the bearing pretty much like the oil does leaving a big gap and steel on steel rubbing/banging together which aint good... he he <br /><br />not entlrely connected to the original post.. but it should serve as a dire warning as to just what happens when your oil level "really" gets too low.. at the worst the big-end rod cap breaks.. the rod comes off the crank.. the next time the crank comes round it then whacks the free hanging rod straight out thru the side of the block..<br /><br />at its best the rod stays connected to the crank and u gets a loud knocking with very low oil pressure and all u need is a new rod and crank.. he he..<br /><br />this is also what oil coolers on high performance engines are mostly about.. stopping that lead/tin bearing material from melting at high loads even with oil being pumped round..<br /><br />with no cooling oil being pumped round at all.. in other words letting your oil level drop below that critical pick-up point.. u get pretty instant melt-down at anything other than very light loads..<br /><br />this is also one for those that worry about their oil pressure not being quite as high as they think it should be.. just remember that the high pressure which many think desirable is obtained by deliberatley restricting the oil flow (minimal bearing clearances)..<br /><br />a little less pressure with a good cooling flow of oil going round the engine (looser bearing clearances) is better than a super high pressure with a restricted flow..<br /><br />trog100