2008 Pro XS

[Peach1303]

Ok—
Just bought a 2008 Ranger with a 2008 Mercury Pro XS 225, serial # 1B506554. Had it thoroughly checked out at a marina yesterday, had everything checked out, and was recommended that I buy the boat (I bought it from a private seller, not the marina). Has 167 hours on it currently. I threw the earmuffs on it, and ran it when I got home as well. Everything went well. Now, this morning I put the motor all the way down and it is dripping oil from the lower unit. Its light brown. The seller told me that when he would winterize it, he would use that type of oil to winterize where the spark plugs go. He said he would put in approx 1 oz of oil in each hole, and he would then have that every spring when he would use the boat. Im going to let it sit for a while and see how much oil comes from it. When we did the compression test yesterday, would that oil drip all the way from the cowling down into the lower unit and then out the prop? Just want to make sure I'm not being played, which I don't think I am. Just seeing all that oil would worry just about anybody. Any input would be great.

Thanks,

Carl

[gehol]

Just some observations: Brown oil could well be Mercury DFI oil. To be checked out correctly mechanic had to warm up motor which would remove oil from cylinders and hopefully blow any excess out the exhaust. If the oil pump or related items were leaking I would hope the mechanic would have caught that with cowling removed. You didn't mention where on the lower unit oil was showing up so this is just a guess. The lower crank seal may be leaking.
Don or Savage will be along to give much better information. It might be helpful to describe exactly where the leak is showing up.

[Peach1303]

Looks like it’s DFI oil. From what the owner told me, he would winterize the boat by putting in an ounce of DFI oil into each cylinder after removing the spark plug, so a total of 6 oz. that is approximately what it appears to be on the ground. I’m wondering if I should take it outside, hook it up to the muffs again, and run it for a while. Could that oil leak all the way down from the cowl to the lower unit by the prop? Is there an exhaust there that it could drip through? Also, the oil is coming from inside the prop and where the prop meets the lower unit.

[gehol]

It could I guess. If it is leaking through the prop seems less likely to be lower crank seal. I still think if the mechanic ran the motor any residual oil from being winterised would be long gone. If you are inclined, pull the cowling and inspect with flashlight to see if you see any oil anywhere on the powerhead. I have never had oil drip from my prop after parking my boat. Best bet is wait for Don or Savage to get an opinion from somebody that actually knows what they are talking about (grin). It may be nothing. Best of luck.

[gehol]

On second thought if all the "oil leak" is through the prop, might be residual from so much idling. Take it out and run the snot out of it for 20 or 30 minutes and see if it still does it after you park it. How much oil we talking about?

[Peach1303]

I’d guess 4-5 oz. running it outside right now.

[gehol]

You do know to not run an optimax above idle out of gear? Sounds like a lot of oil. Wait for Don or Savage.

[Peach1303]

Sure do. Was at 560-600 rpm in neutral. 5 oz is definitely on the high side. Merely guessing. Could be 2-4 realistically. Just ran it for 15 minutes, smoked immediately and cleared up pretty quickly. No more dripping/leaking as of right now and I left the cowl off...all seemed just fine. Definitely curious as to what those guys will say. Thanks for you help bud

[Gamblinman]

The oil in the combustion chamber would have been forced out the exhaust port, down the tuner, and out the exhaust.

If you winterize with oil in the combustion chamber, ALWAYS pull plugs and turn the engine over manually to empty the combustion chamber BEFORE you fire it up. You can hydraulic a cylinder, and do damage.

[Peach1303]

Ok. Still have oil coming out of it. Appears a little darker now. That was done at the marina when the compression test was performed. All of the plugs were pulled and the hose was only hooked up to one cylinder at a time for the test. To say I’m frustrated would be an understatement. Dumb question, but the tuner runs all the way down to he prop?

[Gamblinman]

Ok. Still have oil coming out of it. Appears a little darker now. That was done at the marina when the compression test was performed. All of the plugs were pulled and the hose was only hooked up to one cylinder at a time for the test. To say I’m frustrated would be an understatement. Dumb question, but the tuner runs all the way down to he prop?

Tuner dumps into exhaust cavity, then to the lower unit below.

[Savage]

Make sure the lower unit is full of gear lube.
Lake test is for a 15min. WOT run to burn off ALL the winterization oil.
Bring it home let it sit.
Pull the lower unit and start diagnosing.

[JOE54]

^^^^^ if oil was placed in cyls when winterized there could have been a good amount sitting on top of piston so when mtr was spun it would be pushed out ex port and ran directly down tuner into ex cavity behind prop ,thus when mtr was tilted down would run out bottom of case and possibly down skegg,go run it bring home and tilt down let sit hope this helps ya JOE