Thinking my motor might be shot......

[Bubba72]

I have a 1985 Bayliner capri with a 4 cylinder volovo i/o......Finally was able to get it on the water yesterday and it ran good and smooth for a bit.....Wouldn't get over 25mph at WOT and running around 3800rpms. About a half hour on the water my wife said she smelt like a burning oil smell and shortly after that the motor sputtered out. I pulled the engine cover off and noticed what appeared to be oil in and water around my bilge pump. Oil pressure never dropped on the gauge and temp never went over 180 degrees according to the temp gauge. Not sure what caused it to never get over 25mph at WOT?.......any and all help would appreciated......

Thank you in advance....

 

[Don S]

Re: Thinking my motor might be shot......

So, where did the oil come from.
You are also missing about 1000 rpm at WOT.

Here is a list of possible causes of low WOT (Wide Open Throttle) rpm.

In no particular order

Engine Won't Reach Operating RPM. Check

1. Fuel condition. Type and Octane possibly old fuel
2. Propeller pitch or diameter, damaged blades
3. Restricted fuel pickup tube or anti siphon valve Fuel System Test
4. Crankcase oil volume, high oil level can cause aerated oil and lifter collapse
5. Marine growth on hull and outdrive
6. Wrong gear ratio in outdrive
7. Restricted carburetor air intake (clogged flame arrestor)
8. Restricted exhaust system (broken exhaust shutters/flappers) in engine transom shield or drive
9. Poor cylinder compression Compression Test
10. Carburetor defective, or wrong type.
11. Fuel pump pressure and vacuum
12. Boat overloaded, improperly loaded, or improperly trimmed.
13. Engine Overheating
14. Engine timing and ignition system operation
15. Remote control cables and linkage for proper travel to open throttle plates fully.

 

[Bubba72]

Re: Thinking my motor might be shot......

timing was set yesterday by the marina (it was at 10.5 degrees)....
put a half tank of 87 octane in 2 days ago (there was originally just above E)....
oil looks like it's coming from oil pan gasket....
only people in the boat were my wife and I....
no marine growth....
has original prop on it....
prop in good shape....
other than those i've just named off, thats all i know

When we got it last week the previous owner told use it would run 40mph with no problem, yet i was able to top out 26mph at WOT (per gps)and speedometer. previous owner did say he replaced the fuel pump but if he did then i'm not sure if it was the correct one or not. It did plane out good and nice but after it hit 26mph it flattened out and max rpm's were 3900

 

[alfa]

Re: Thinking my motor might be shot......

does the motor turn at all? even manually with a wrench at alternator?

 

[Don S]

Re: Thinking my motor might be shot......

does the motor turn at all? even manually with a wrench at alternator?

Must be able to turn some, he gets 26 mph out of it.

 

[Bubba72]

Re: Thinking my motor might be shot......

It does turn over, but now won't start, and when it was running i topped out at 26mph. It has oil in the engine compartment. I was talking to someone at work the other day and they said with a 4 cylinder motor that 25mph is probably the fastest I'd get out of it......any idea what top speed at wot should roughly be? But I'm still concerned about where the oil is coming from I'm hoping its just a head gasket but i can't tell, and I'm going the head isn't cracked......

 

[scb1712]

Re: Thinking my motor might be shot......

Top speed is going to depend on your prop etc, but you should be getting at least 30-35 out of it unless it has a weird prop on it. As Don suggested - you should probably do a compression check. That could give you an idea about any block issues (though not for sure).

 

[Bubba72]

Re: Thinking my motor might be shot......

I do know it has the original prop on it, guess I'll start getting into it and check the compression of each cylinder, around what should the compression be at on each cylinder?

 

[DAN M VAGOS]

Re: Thinking my motor might be shot......

Why are we taling about the prop when he is telling us it dose not run??? First check for spark then fuel.

 

[Bubba72]

Re: Thinking my motor might be shot......

Because i had also asked that when it was running it only ran 25mph at WOT , so i asked what qould stop it from going faster because the previous owner told me it would run 40mph with no problem.....my issue now is that i have oil in the engine compartment, it cranks and no start, and when we had it running it ran good but then it just sputtered out and died

 

[DAN M VAGOS]

Re: Thinking my motor might be shot......

You will still need to ckeck for spark if its week or only fireing on 3 cyl's the your lossing power or if its not getting the right amount of fuel you will not get the power out of it but right now you need to get it running. The fastest way to check for spark is pull one wire off and put a screwdriver in the boot then place it very close to a metal part of the engine if there is good spark then you need to see if you have fuel and the best way is to use starting fluid if it starts and stalls the there is a good chance you have a fuel problem.

 

[DAN M VAGOS]

Re: Thinking my motor might be shot......

Don't let the oil in the bilge scare you a very small amount of oil in water will look bad and most older engines leak some oil its like your car 80% leak some thing lol. But if you meen there is more iol the water and its like you did a oil change in the bilge and never drained it then thats not good.

 

[Mullin]

Re: Thinking my motor might be shot......

What altitude are you boating at?
Is this a bowrider?
Did you have any smoking?


My '85 capri bowrider hits a max speed of just over 30mph (I did 31mph yesterday with me and my wife and some gear on board). But I am at 6750ft elevation. Sea level boating and I think I can get somewhere about 37mph (it's been a while). 40mph sounds unrealistic to me.
If it's not a bowrider then you should expect even lower speeds as it will be a heavier model.

You have 2 seperate problems now. 1, won't start. 2, speed and wot rpms. You really need to get 1 done before number 2. However, if I was to make a guess, I would think they are related.

My guess is that your timing belt tensioner is frozen solid and that it wasn't burning oil she smelt but a burning belt. During the run the belt heated up, stretched and jumped a couple of teeth. Now the timing is all way out of wack and it won't start.

Look at the belt, push it and see how loose it is. Manually crank over the engine and check the 3 pulley timing marks. Look at the back of the timing belt, can you still read numbers or is it burnt up a little.

Just a shot in the dark from what you have said, but it happened to me.

 

[Bubba72]

Re: Thinking my motor might be shot......

It's a bowrider, elevation is right around sea level not sure the exact elevation here in Michigan. No smoking at all it was running was hearing evey once in awhile like a bolt was loose at wot then it just sputtered out, I let it sit for a minute and it started right update a few seconds and then sputtered out and wouldn't start after that.

 

[ajax5240]

Re: Thinking my motor might be shot......

Even though you have a good list of tests to do above, and they all still need to be done. Especially spark and compression.

An easy way to eliminate fuel as the issue is use some starter fluid. If you spray some in and it fires up for a few seconds, your issue is likely carb related. If it still doesn't start, now would be the time to start the spark and compression test.

 

[aerobat]

Re: Thinking my motor might be shot......

It does turn over, but now won't start, and when it was running i topped out at 26mph. It has oil in the engine compartment. I was talking to someone at work the other day and they said with a 4 cylinder motor that 25mph is probably the fastest I'd get out of it......any idea what top speed at wot should roughly be?

could you tell us what exactly 4cyl you are talking ? aq130, 3.0 ? what exactly boat , how long ?

 

[Bubba72]

Re: Thinking my motor might be shot......

Ask I know is that it's a 4cylinder motor, can't find a model anywhere on it but the boat is an 85 bayliner Capri 3.0 and it's 20ft 5in. not sure if that helps any....

 

[Bubba72]

Re: Thinking my motor might be shot......

I've been thinking.....i think the reason why it would only run 25mph at WOT is that i had the motor all the way down and didn't raise up any, still couldn't pin point where the oil is coming from so i ended up putting it in the shop now I'm waiting to see what they can find and how much it'll cost hopefully not to much.....