oil drops spotted around oil pump and other spot optimax 150

[ride.race.live]

Serial 1B044209

So pin pointed an oil leak but its leaving me 2nd guess myself a bit.

I can see a tiny bit of oil seeping from the bottom bolt closest to motor but I'm seeing some oil also "pool" around the part of the block and hose clamps as seen in picture.

When I originally looked at it it had a drip coming off it. I wiped it down to see if I can somewhat gauge how quick the leak is and I can't see any additional excessive leaking in the 10 mins I ran motor pn thise muffs


Is there any other potential spot I can get oil leaking from other than hoses and oil pump? Can oil be leaking from that "front block" in the corner?

Here's a pic of the area I found most of the oil drip to...


In on my phone so please bare with any auto corrects.


https://imgur.com/a/MjLupPm

[JOE54]

possible id bet on pump though ,oil running down front of plenum

[ride.race.live]

So theres no oil or anything that goes into the plenum. Looks like it's just strictly a air passage. Couldn't find info on what the parts was because I didnt know what the name was lol.


I actually went in and torqued the 3 bolts tighter to see if that stops it. They didn't seem all that tight. I was able to turn each of them a solid 1/8 with little force.

Dont got anything to loose trying that at this point. I'll have a new pump on order when the season is done unless the condition gets worse

I'll be monitoring how much it drips every ride out now for sure.

Thanks joe

[SilverFox579]

They didn't seem that tight because they aren't supposed to be, torque spec for the three attachment bolts is 140 is inch pounds. Cranking them down will do nothing to stop an oil leak as they simply attach the pump assembly to the plenum tab. Over tightening them risks stripping threaded mount ears on the oil pump housing or breaking a bolt.

[ride.race.live]

Hey Silver,

The 3 bolts I am referring to are the 3 bolts on the actual pump itself and not the actual mounting bolts that are making contact with the plenum.

The bolts I am referring to are the socket head ones. Tightening them SHOULD increase pressure on the O ring.

The reason I put up a picture of the plenum was because a lot of the oil was accumulating there and I was wondering if I was missing anything and if there could be another cause of an oil leak from something else (other then a hose leaking or oil pump)

[EuropeanAM]

If there is a droplet of oil at the bottom allen-head bolt, you can bet the pump is leaking.

If not certain, and you ARE running Mercury Optimax/DFI oil: Clean with degreaser, dry completely, run engine for 10 minutes and check with a UV Leak Detection Light/glasses (DFI oil has UV dye in it, as do Merc's other oil products).

[SilverFox579]

Hey Silver,

The 3 bolts I am referring to are the 3 bolts on the actual pump itself and not the actual mounting bolts that are making contact with the plenum.

The bolts I am referring to are the socket head ones. Tightening them SHOULD increase pressure on the O ring.

The reason I put up a picture of the plenum was because a lot of the oil was accumulating there and I was wondering if I was missing anything and if there could be another cause of an oil leak from something else (other then a hose leaking or oil pump)

Got it. I went by your picture where it looked like you were pointing to the attachment bolts. Others here have tried tightening the socket head bolts and most all have found it didn't work at all or only for a short time. Hope you find a leaking hose instead...

[ride.race.live]

Yeah I think I poorly worded my post. in the picture is where I found most of the oil accumulating on the corner of the plenum and it would lead down to that black bracket and drip there.

Well see how the tightened bolts turn out out of the 3 I tightened 1 was looser then the other two. I cleaned out everything to the best I can and I got some paper towel under the oil pump, so ill see how much ends up leaking.



I'm really starting to not be a fan of these oil pumps. they may not actually "fail" but a leaking O ring is a fail in my books and from all the posts ive read these pumps have started to leak with all sorts of hours on them... low or high.

The fact I need to spend 700$ to replace a pump that WILL end up leaking sooner then later is frustrating to say the least. ive read some leaking at or under 80 hours.. some still under warranty.. and so on.... you of course got the few that say their's started leaking at lets say 600 hours, but thats not to say it wasnt leaking well before that. For example my motor has around 600 and I just so happen to notice it now. I can imagine its been leaking for some time...

With all that said...all over a 10cent O ring is the worst part.. its technically not even a wear part... you got high stress parts outlasting a simple O ring designed pump.

sorry end of rant lol