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mysterious oil loss....

wobbly ollie

By wobbly ollie
in New to Boating?

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wobbly ollie Contributor

wobbly ollie

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Right guys....between all those helpfull replies I am know keen to get to tbe boat and work tbrough the checklist. I'll start with oul filter which I'll remove and inspect. Then I'll check the pump including the Allen key bung screw and any ancillary items including making sure the dipstick is fully pushed home. Next I'll check the oil breather. I'll clean everything down on tbe casing...refill with oil of correct gauge (but not necessary to buy marine oil??) and then the best suggestion of all..a light dusting of talcum powder!!. Fire her up and observe with torch and mirror to hand. All sound okay to you?

Thanks again everyone. Ill keep you updated..

Ill also check that some clunmsy oaf hasn't stood on one of the oil pipes.

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Chewbacka Veteran

Chewbacka

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Good plan. In answer to you question "but not necessary to buy marine oil?" there is no need to use anything claiming to be marine oil.

Just get a decent oil that meets the spec you need - almost certainly not synthetic, just a diesel non-turbo engine oil.

My Beta engine is basically a Kubota and they are used in mini diggers and baby tractors etc. so not really marine at all.

 

I use oil branded as suitable for New Holland agricultural equipment as it is good quality and I can get it for a decent price. Others vary from supermarket own brands, Halfords and Euro car parts as well as the more posh branded stuff.

 

Good luck finding your leak.

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Cheshire cat Experienced

Cheshire catDonate to Canal World

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No offence taken. It's just that the amount of oil that has escaped indicates a semi serious leak so when you start looking for it I think it will be fairly obvious. The kind of leaks where a gasket has failed are a lot more difficult to track down. which is where the talc comes in.

 

Anyway, good luck and we hope to here you've found it and it was a no cost fix.

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mross Influencer

mross

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Please post a photo when you have unscrewed it. Sadly, I think this is not the main culprit. Looks like a small leak. There may be others. It does look as though it is sealed by a washer. In which case, it is possible that the washer has been omitted or is the wrong size. If the internal diameter is too large it will leak.

Edited by mross
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Chewbacka Veteran

Chewbacka

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My lad's Corsa used to dribble from the oil pressure switch and a couple of turns of PTFE tape fixed it. If you do use it make sure you don't get any fragments of tape going into the engine as it will risk blocking the oil ways. This is more a risk if you take it out and put it back in again.

Thinking about it, it may be better to use a smear of liquid sealant.

 

What do others rhink??

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Paul C Veteran II

Paul C

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If that's genuinely leaking, then its possible there's more than one leak. If its the only one, then its unusual to suddenly leak so much. Personally I'd keep looking for a bigger leak. If there's a copper washer, then removing the oil sensor, cleaning both surfaces (the engine block and the sealing face on the sensor then cleaning the copper washer by holding it in a gas flame until it glows (it will burn off dirt/oil and soften the metal, so it will seal nicely if reused) would fix that particular leak.

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Flyboy Experienced

Flyboy

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Found it! Looks like a pressure or temperature switch where it screws into the block. A steady dribble even at tickover. It seems tight enough so i guess I'll remove it and inspect. Assume its a washer of some sort thats failed...?? Any suggestions?

I think the oil pressure sender/switch has a tapered thread. It might just need resealing with something like Hylomar.

 

Edited because using sealant will stop the earth return, which is why a tapered thread is used.

Edited by Flyboy
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mross Influencer

mross

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Oil pressure switches often leak from the body and not always from where they screw in.

Yes, a frequent problem on my Triumph motorcycle. But when the diaphragm fails, it normally lights the oil pressure warning light. In the OP's photo it does seem to be leaking from below the unit.

 

O bizzardus te salute - man of wisdom

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Flyboy Experienced

Flyboy

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Yanmar engines use the American NPT thread on the oil pressure sender. It possible the the sender has been replaced with a BSP threaded one. There are only small differences in these threads so would screw in ok but not seal properly.

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mross Influencer

mross

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Yanmar engines use the American NPT thread on the oil pressure sender. It possible the the sender has been replaced with a BSP threaded one. There are only small differences in these threads so would screw in ok but not seal properly.

It's more likely to screw in only part way and be a bugger to remove, but I don't see why it wouldn't seal unless you tighten it until the threads strip.

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wobbly ollie Contributor

wobbly ollie

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The photo didn't do the leak hustice. Within 1 minute of starting her up there wasa steady flow Thats a bit too strong a description but it was less than a flow but more than a dribble.... Back down with sockets next to remove. The existing nut has been badly treated and shows signs of rounded edges. Probably as its a difficult so and so to get to. Have already removed manual oil sump pump and bracket.

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Flyboy Experienced

Flyboy

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It's more likely to screw in only part way and be a bugger to remove, but I don't see why it wouldn't seal unless you tighten it until the threads strip.

British Standard and DIN which have a thread angle of 55° and 28 threads per inch in the 1/8-inch pipe size. The U.S. Standard NPT has a thread angle of 60° and only 27 threads per inch in the 1/8-inch pipe size. The two thread sizes are so close that visual comparison is inconclusive. The threads will make up, but they will not seal properly because tapered threads rely on good surface area contact.

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Edders Collaborator

Edders

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My lad's Corsa used to dribble from the oil pressure switch and a couple of turns of PTFE tape fixed it. If you do use it make sure you don't get any fragments of tape going into the engine as it will risk blocking the oil ways. This is more a risk if you take it out and put it back in again.

Thinking about it, it may be better to use a smear of liquid sealant.

 

What do others rhink??

Same with my lad's Corsa some years ago, but as Bizzard said, the leak was through the body. Easy job to fit a new one.

 

Tony

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  • 2 weeks later...
alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

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For what it is worth, some time back I added an oil pressure gauge to complement the oil pressure switch on our then BMC 1800 engine.

 

The sender was a brand new unit from the Faria range.

 

One morning on doing usual checks, I found large amounts of oil dumped in the bilge.

 

When eventually traced, it was being ejected around the electrical connection on the sender - there was no leak where it entered the T piece fitting I had added to allow two different sensors. The sender hadn't seen much over a year's use, from memory.

 

It seemed ironic to me that brand new instrumentation I had added to help me monitor an older engine came close to dumping enough oil to wreck it, (I caught it below the dip stick minimum, but fortunately still on the stick).

 

I think there is little doubt you have found the cause, even if your sensor is for a warning light, whereas mine was for a gauge.

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wobbly ollie Contributor

wobbly ollie

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Thanks for that. I'll keep that it mind as its not the first comment ive had that it might be down to a fault in the mechanism of actual as opposed to leaking through the thread.

Thanks for that. I'll keep that it mind as its not the first comment ive had that it might be down to a fault in the mechanism of actual unit as opposed to leaking through the thread.

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