DFI from weep hole

[josie201]

Serial # 2B090964

Have a small amount of dfi oil appearing at the weep hole on the port side of the lower unit. Have checked the lower unit for water, as that was my original suspicion. No sign of water and after a closer look at the residue left I am fairly certain it is engine oil, it looks like you took a small amount from the jug and dribbled it out of the weep hole, i.e. doesn’t appear like it has miked with any fuel. I did have a oil pump, and a oil prime sequence done late January and have had the boat out a few times since that service. What should I be looking for as possible causes?

[gehol]

If no leak under the cowl, I am guessing bottom crank seal. Check carefully under the cowl for leak. The ones that actually know what they are talking about will be along shortly.

[JOE54]

pull gearcase look for dfi on driveshaft

[josie201]

pull gearcase look for dfi on driveshaft

Which would lead you to suspect a lower crankcase seal?

[Savage]

Which would lead you to suspect a lower crankcase seal?

Yes.

[josie201]

Major repair job for a premier rated service shop?

[josie201]

After searching thru older post could the dfi oil showing up on the lower unit be due to a recent oil prime and a oil pump replacement? Both procedures were done in late January, boat then sat unused till mid March and has been used about 6 times since then. Noticed oil on the last trip out. Did confirm thru a black light that it is dfi oil, with none present in the cowling. Do have it scheduled for service / diagnostic in a week, but would like to be somewhat intelligent on the possible causes before then.

thanks

[SoonerFan]

I had the same thing on my 150 Optimax after having the engine oil tank replace due to a faulty oil level sensor. When I talked to the service manager about it, he explained that it's almost impossible to R&R that tank without spilling some oil that gets down in the lower shroud. I cleaned it up with some Simple Green and never worried about it again.

[EuropeanAM]

DFI oil will show up readily under UV Detection Light. Best to confirm where it's actually leaking from.

Your Premier-Mercury dealer should not have difficulties dealing with any of the potential sources of oil (or gear lube) leakage.

[Springcrik]

DFI oil will show up readily under UV Detection Light

Don, are you saying that DFI has a fluorescent additive, or does it simply have a distinct appearance under a UV lamp versus the lower unit gearlube? Please clarify, TIA.

[Savage]

DFI looks like fluorescent green under UV light.

[Springcrik]

I appreciate the info, Savage. Please check my new thread with a similar problem on a 1999 Opti 200

[EuropeanAM]

Incidentally, Mercury has started adding UV dye to ALL of their oils.

[Springcrik]

Incidentally, Mercury has started adding UV dye to ALL of their oils.

would you know if they are adding dye to the lower unit gearlube also, or are they adding it only to the engine oils

[josie201]

Just a quick update and thanks to all that responded. It was as suspected a lower crankcase seal. That was repaired and I was back on the water, only to have the engine mounted oil tank start leaking on the second trip out. That was replaced and to date everything seems to be in working order. Other then the wait ( which is to be expected ) the premier dealer performed above expectations

[morgmach]

I'm having a similar issue. I just bought a 2016 225 Optimax and have ran it a few times with no problems. Last weekend (July 28, 2019) I left an area and my over temp alarm came on at 168 degrees. I shut the motor off immediately and raised the trim to clear off the weeds that had blocked the water intakes on the lower unit. The motor quickly cooled back down to 140 ish and 128 ish which is normal for my motor under good conditions. The motor stayed cool and no more alarms or any issues were noticed the rest of the day. I did detect an oil smell but everything looked good while looking down from the deck of the bassboat. When I trailered the boat I noticed oil on the transom and later when I got home the lower unit. I pulled the cover off and there was some oil inside the cowling and draining down the lower cowling toward the lower unit. I'm assuming this oil coming from the weep hole is from this. I do know it is NOT lower unit oil as that oil is dark green in color and this oil I'm seeing is amber in color, just like the Opti Oil I use and wiped from the inside of the cowling (not sure I'm spelling that right). I've wiped everything down three times and a little residue always seems to be somewhere. I'm hoping the weep hole is just letting the previous oil from above drain the the deck of the garage, but I'm concerned. I will try the black light discussed above to see where the oil is coming from. I did trim the motor way up again to see if the on engine oil tank was leaking when tilted, no leak can bee seen. However, the oil was high in the cowling near the front, so it's coming from somewhere. A note to help, this only happened once we trimmed the motor very high, we've never seen a drop before this. Thank you all in advance for you comments and advice.

[Savage]

Please see announcement at the top of the forum page......post hi-jacking is not permitted by the forum moderator.