Small oil leak

[ride.race.live]

well needless to say ive seen some real weird things happen... anything is possible..

i ran a paper towel in under my oil pump to pick up / see how much oil i was loosing from the leaking o ring... it was snug in there to say the least but hey... its at your own risk for sure....

all in all... I think we all agree or atleast i'd say 90% of us would agree that there's a poor issue with these pumps that merc is hosing us with.

Ive seen some odd oil pump failures / wear out. but until this merc pump I never ran into something that I had to throw out due to an Oring leaking thats accessible by removing 3 screws.

[fishnfireman]

^^^^

[johnw91]

How about a leak from the one of the 6 hoses on the back? Has anyone experienced that before? I started looking at mine last night after noticing the leak and it seems that the majority of residue is present on the 6 hoses on the back, with one of the hoses having a clear gap. It still surprises me that so many things are just held on with zip ties in these motors. Would undoing the hose and replacing the zip tie introduce air into my oil pump, causing an even bigger issue? Thanks all. If needed, Serial number is 1B7777941 2010 Optimax 225.

[Redngoo]

I like to think im a pretty decent hand. After i seen the way the brass stem is put on i would like to say that 85 percent of the oil pump leaks are not simply a oring leaking. It is that brass stem bein cracked. Why mercury used brass in this application puzzles me. Im sure it probablly has something to being non magnetic and the stem that works that actually works the plunger. The cap held with the 3 allens has a weep hole on the bottom side. I personally think in most cases this is where the seepage comes from. Not the oring sealing surface. I do think that there are better options instead of brass for this application. Im sure in production cost plays a big option here. I do kno it seems to be fair to say this a common issue. Ive been reading about this issue for several yrs on several forums. If im wrong about my opinions about my assesment of my experience and dissection of the pump please correct me. This is strictly my own opinion.

[ride.race.live]

Red... a few did report the brass part was cracked. 1 person reported a few of them he bought used were...

If it is then there is a chance it's not the oring as theres no actual seal preventing oil from leaking between the cover and brass part.

The o ring is located inside the pump. The cover pushes down on the brass piece which compresses o ring for the seal on the inside.

I know mine for example you can physically feel the o ring has lost its shape and has very little to no seal when re assembling pump.

I remove the small spring and checked to see how flush the brass piece fit with the oring. The way it sat I kind of could tell it wouldnt take much movement to leak any kind of liquid as there was very minimal squish from it now.

Bare with me on this post... using my phone...

[ride.race.live]

double post

[castforcash]

I like to think im a pretty decent hand. After i seen the way the brass stem is put on i would like to say that 85 percent of the oil pump leaks are not simply a oring leaking. It is that brass stem bein cracked. Why mercury used brass in this application puzzles me. Im sure it probablly has something to being non magnetic and the stem that works that actually works the plunger. The cap held with the 3 allens has a weep hole on the bottom side. I personally think in most cases this is where the seepage comes from. Not the oring sealing surface. I do think that there are better options instead of brass for this application. Im sure in production cost plays a big option here. I do kno it seems to be fair to say this a common issue. Ive been reading about this issue for several yrs on several forums. If im wrong about my opinions about my assesment of my experience and dissection of the pump please correct me. This is strictly my own opinion.

I have torn one apart as well, and I agree with all you said. Excellent summation!

[lpugh]

^^^^^^^^Yep

[ride.race.live]

when i took mine apart i looked closely at the brass part and couldnt find any point it would leak. usually when brass has a hairline crack the material tends to discolor some around the area... from what ive seen anyways by no means am i a "pro"

its a polished brass which should make it even easier to spot. ontop of oil usually leaves a discoloration when something like that happens i would imagine?

[Redngoo]

After i changed my oring and it still leaked. I knew the only place it could leak and seep through the weep hole was through th stem. After a visual inspection i was convinced it was leaking at the area where the brass was pressed on or i felt that was the only place oil could pass by. I used dye penetrate at this point to reveal a crack about a 1/4" above the pressed area. At this point i used compressed air through the plunger with soapy water. Game over. Blowed bubbles like a bubble machine!! Keep in mind the brass didnt even appear to have a scratch on it. Not saying yours is not simply the oring. Im just saying!

[Savage]

And that's why you replace the complete oil pump...….

[Idaho Sandman]

And that's why mercury marine should recall the oil pump ...….

FIFY

[Savage]

I the Idaho Sandman would like to apologize for making a Fake quote using Savage's name. Don please remove my post. I'll never do it again because I don't want AL to ban me!!

FIFY

[fly by night]

I concur with Savage that the oil pump should be replaced for long term use. Don, Savage, and Joe have been there, done that, and are quite experienced in these matters. I have learned a lot on these forums from these individuals and appreciate their time, dedication, and effort in assisting boaters as to what to do when it comes to mechanical issues. I appreciate them passing on their knowledge and expertise very much.

[fishnfireman]

After i changed my oring and it still leaked. I knew the only place it could leak and seep through the weep hole was through th stem. After a visual inspection i was convinced it was leaking at the area where the brass was pressed on or i felt that was the only place oil could pass by. I used dye penetrate at this point to reveal a crack about a 1/4" above the pressed area. At this point i used compressed air through the plunger with soapy water. Game over. Blowed bubbles like a bubble machine!! Keep in mind the brass didnt even appear to have a scratch on it. Not saying yours is not simply the oring. Im just saying!

That makes perfect sense and would explain why the o-ring has worked for some and not on others.

[ride.race.live]

if you do enough reading on here and through a couple other forums... its about a 50/50 chance the o ring seems to work. also a lot depends on what o ring replacement is used (a few people have used a couple different ones) but yea.... there's also a whole lot of unfinished / non followed up threads with people claiming to try the o ring replacement but not posting back the end result.


I know for my self.. ive been wanting to do the o ring "fix" but the more i sit on it the more im tempted to just go buy a new pump... 98% of that reason though is because my current pump already has 500-600 hours of use. if I had under half of that many hours i'd be a little more inclined to just swap the single o ring if it were leaking.