Oil leak...help!

[SMPLV]

Need some help here. I have a Merc 600 SCI in my Magic Scepter. Last time I was out, a few months ago, I ran out of gas ‍ and while waiting for Tow Assist I opened up the hatch and saw oil that was "flung" up on the bottom of the hatch, and on the floor. It was all located in front of the motor as if oil hit the belts and flung it around. I had oil pressure before and after this happened. I cleaned it all up and after getting some gas I idled it back to the dock, let it sit for a while to see if I could see it drip from somewhere and nothing. Started it back up and got a warning beep and after doing some research, it turned out to be a low oil pressure warning. Checked oil level and sure enough it was low. Added oil and beep went away and no oil flinging or shooting out anywhere. The next day I checked it again and noticed a drip on the bilge sump of the boat and it appeared to be dripping down from around the fuel filter area of the engine. I still could not locate the leak. Anyone have an idea where it could leaking? You can see in the last picture that I circled in green the area that I found some drips after cleaning all the oil up.

 

[AzGeo]

Timing cover seal ?

Place a finger UNDER the harmonic balancer, to see if it is wet .

Then fold a piece of paper, in half and raise it up between the balancer and the timing cover .

Drag the folded paper UP, along the bottom if the balancer "hub area" and the timing cover .

IF the paper is wet, that's were it's leaking .

IF not leaking there, inspect the front of the block where the intake manifold is sealing in the crankcase vapors (the flat spot between the heads) .

 

[SMPLV]

Timing cover seal ?

Place a finger UNDER the harmonic balancer, to see if it is wet .

Then fold a piece of paper, in half and raise it up between the balancer and the timing cover .

Drag the folded paper UP, along the bottom if the balancer "hub area" and the timing cover .

IF the paper is wet, that's were it's leaking .

IF not leaking there, inspect the front of the block where the intake manifold is sealing in the crankcase vapors (the flat spot between the heads) .

Thank you. I will check that out.

 

[AzGeo]

Thinking about this again .

What kind of oil is in the blower ?

Could the oil be leaking out of the "snout" or "blower drive shaft seal" ?

IF a shaft seal INSIDE has failed, the boost pressure made by the blower could be pushing oil out of the seal behind the input pulley .

 

[SMPLV]

Thinking about this again .

What kind of oil is in the blower ?

Could the oil be leaking out of the "snout" or "blower drive shaft seal" ?

IF a shaft seal INSIDE has failed, the boost pressure made by the blower could be pushing oil out of the seal behind the input pulley .

Definitely not blower oil as the blower was clean and no sign of leaking anywhere around it. The blower is the factory Merc one that came on the engine, but I think I read somewhere that Whipple built them. Not 100% sure on that though. This weekend I'm going to do the dye in the oil check to see if a light can pick up where it's leaking from. I'll post my results.

 

[SBMech]

Weird, that looks more like power steering fluid than engine oil to me. Front seal leaking on the pump intermittently or when under heavy load (like holding the wheel at the stop for a turn causing the pump to overboost)?

 

[t&y]

No help from me at all... but that would drive me nucking futs

 

[SMPLV]

If anyone is curious, the leak ended up being the seal on the sea pump. That little pump holds oil, but is not fed by an oiling system, its filled through a little fill screw. That would explain why it only leaked once...very little oil in it is needed, so when it leaked, it leaked all of it out. This pump also operates the mechanical fuel pump, so because it was dry it cause some wear on the fuel pump arm. Went ahead and replaced that too. A little over $600 for parts.

 

[CobraDave]

Interesting. Thanks for the update.


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[Runs2rch]

If anyone is curious, the leak ended up being the seal on the sea pump. That little pump holds oil, but is not fed by an oiling system, its filled through a little fill screw. That would explain why it only leaked once...very little oil in it is needed, so when it leaked, it leaked all of it out. This pump also operates the mechanical fuel pump, so because it was dry it cause some wear on the fuel pump arm. Went ahead and replaced that too. A little over $600 for parts.

They go bad way more often than they should.

 

[SBMech]

That also explains why it did not look like engine oil to me. Thank you for posting up the fix!

 

[SMPLV]

They go bad way more often than they should.

Yeah that sucks they do.

 

[SMPLV]

That also explains why it did not look like engine oil to me. Thank you for posting up the fix!

You got it. Hope it helps someone else if they come across the same symptoms.