115 Optimax ProXs Excessive Oil Usage

[Bill Reynolds]

Serial Number 2B013178 - 325 hours. Had an oil pump replaced at about 50 hours because of oil leak. Has always had excessive oil usage. I have captured operational metrics over extended periods (using my MercMonitor) in an effort to capture as many variables as possible and establish metrics other that would be more meaningful than gas/oil ratio, but did not see anything significant. The average is 40:1 gas/oil ratio. I also get a puff of smoke at morning startup (not as bad as my old EFI but very noticeable).
I know the oil pump output is controlled by the PCM in response to operational variables, but I feel that something in the firmware is out of calibration in my motor. Are there firmware updates or service bulletins relating to this problem?
Following is a pic of the my prop and the plugs that were installed for the last 100 hours.

[JOE54]

investigating/plugs look good to me but that prop for 100 hrs does look bad,are you using q kleen and q care /rpms at wide open???

[SilverFox579]

Agree with Joe on plugs and whether you're using Quickare/Quickleen in every tank. Do you spend a lot of time graphing?

[Bill Reynolds]

I do not spend much time graphing and I do not troll. Normally, I have the trolling motor down or I am moving to another spot.
The build up in the prop is over 200+ hours.
I had not thought about the Quick clean. The prop is out for work now so it will go back on clean and I will start using the additives.
Since the plugs look ok, could this excess oil be coming from the compressor through the muffler that bypasses into the lower unit?

[JOE54]

q kleen and q care 1 oz each for 5gal/that would mean your rails would be flooded with oil also air is discharged into lower cowl doesn't go into exhaust housing

[thomasfouraker]

What oil are you using?

[Bill Reynolds]

q kleen and q care 1 oz each for 5gal/that would mean your rails would be flooded with oil also air is discharged into lower cowl doesn't go into exhaust housing

ok thanks. The mystery continues. It's not a big deal. Just wanted to be sure it was not pointing to a bigger problem.

[Bill Reynolds]

What oil are you using?

i use the Mercury HPDI oil.

[Nova Kaw 650]

The old 40:1 and other ratios don't apply with a DFI motor.
The new DFI's take about the same amount of oil as older EFI motors, but will travel much further on a gallon of gas than an EFI. Oil use is based on throttle position, RPM's, engine load, etc.

[SilverFox579]

If you aren't experiencing any run issues, I'd clean the prop, add 1oz each Quickleen & Quickare for every 5gals fuel in your tank then run it like you normally do and watch prop hub.

[Bill Reynolds]

Thanks for all the replies. My prop should be back from repair mid weeek. I will add the additives as suggested and watch it for a while.

[SilverFox579]

Thanks for all the replies. My prop should be back from repair mid weeek. I will add the additives as suggested and watch it for a while.

If you use Quickleen every time you refuel you shouldn't see this again.

[06 SB]

That is way too much carbon build up on your prop. Your spark plugs look good though...very strange. Definitely use the proper additives from now on.

Do you use 87 octane fuel?

Do you have a hot foot?

Is it running/idling fine?

[Bill Reynolds]

That is way too much carbon build up on your prop. Your spark plugs look good though...very strange. Definitely use the proper additives from now on.

Do you use 87 octane fuel?

Do you have a hot foot?

Is it running/idling fine?

I use 87 octane now, but only for about 50 of the 200 hours on the prop. Prior to that I was using 92/94 octane allways non ethanol.
I do not have a hot foot and it occurs to me that since my normal fishing day is moving from spot to spot I have a significant amount of run time devoted to getting on plane.
The puff of smoke I get when cold starting bothers me and makes me wonder if the air compressor is getting too much oil. Excess oil from the AC drains back to the cylinders through three hoses so I wonder if this is causing the smoke puff. Much like oil draining past the valve guides and collecting in the combustion chamber on an overhead Valve auto engine.
It idles fine. It does run rough in the 1500/2000 RPM range. I posted about that previously and did all the suggested actions except clean the fuel rail and injectors. It does not bother me that much now but if it gets worse, I will probably pull the fuel/air rail.

[JOE54]

BILL please look up cocktail for optis add Qcare and prem plus oil also JOE

[SilverFox579]

You'll find Don's recommended cocktail here including the PP for injectors along with his explanation of why running high octane fuel can contribute to carbon build up in engines designed to run on 87 octane - Oil, Battery, Spark Plugs, Fuel and Fuel Additive Recommendations

[TritonTRXV8]

The plugs look normal mine are the same. Your hub has alot more buildup tho. I honestly think use of quickleen is pretty important along with quickcare. The puff of smoke would not concern me tho especially on the cold start mine does the same thing has since new. The roughness is the 1500-2000 rpm range is about where the vent holes in the prop start working sometimes if you hit it right there is a slight vibration. For me its dons cocktail with 150:1 prem plus premix. Has worked for 230 hours so far.