Optimax idle issues and overheat alarm

[Bigbassfish]

Lower flywheel teeth look brand new. I have not inspected the reeds yet, is there a way to do so that wouldn’t involve 95 percent of the work of replacing them? I figure if I do this, I might as well be ready to upgrade to carbon reeds while I’m at it. If nothing else, considering I’ll need an oil pump prime, it’ll give me a chance to replace the inline oil filter. I know there is atleast one gasket that will need replaced in get to the reeds, is that it? Are there multiple gaskets worth replacing in addition to new reeds?

On the off chance the engine swallowed a reed piece, would it be worth compression testing before tear into things? I would have to buy a compression tester to do so.

I did notice tonight while inspecting the flywheel, the bottom of oil pump bracket was wet with oil… it’s not immediately clear where it’s coming from, the inside of the cowling looks to be a little wet, but no pooling or anything crazy. Any chance I’ll get lucky and it could just be a loose or cracked line instead of a leaking pump? I know of the foot powder trick, I’ll give it a shot tomorrow and see if I can track that down.

[Bigbassfish]

Not sure if this could be a symptom…I’ll try and give as much info as I can, boat is a triton VT17, and with one person and gear, top speed is about 36 or so just hitting 5000rpm. Prop is a 20p laser 2, I’m not sure if this is normal, or on the low side of WOT rpm, but I’ll say for what it’s worth, the top speed has been consistent as long as I’ve owned the boat, it’s not like I’ve noticed a sudden decrease. According to the service manual, these numbers for WOT rpm and top speed are within spec, although on the low end especially considering the length and weight are on the lower end of the recommended range. That being said, the boat has had this stutter issue as long as I’ve had it so I don’t really know what I should be expecting.

[EuropeanAM]

Oil Pump: If the lowest allen head screw has oil drops on it, very likely the pump is leaking.

Reeds: Obtain all the reed gaskets and reeds before tearing into it.

Compression Test: This is one of the BASICS and should always be checked at the very beginning of Diagnostic attempts.

[Bigbassfish]

I will likely order my gaskets from European marine so I’m sure the parts department will be able to help me with the exact part numbers for the gaskets. I know TDR and Chris Carson reeds both come highly recommended, is there a preferred aftermarket option? Any reason to go one over another?

Going to pick up a compression tester before cracking into things, I hadn’t really worried about it because i had it tested a couple years back and all three cylinders were at 125, and the boat ran rough back then too. Thinking about how much worse it’s gotten lately, has made me concerned if it could have potentially eaten a broken reed piece that finally got knocked loose after all these years.

For the oil pump, I sprayed it down with foot powder and let it sit for a few hours, and nothing that I would say looked like obvious oil leaking. I let it sit over night and it still looks to be the same as it first did. When I noticed the oil originally, the Allen head bolt was dry, as well as the bell shaped housing it’s securing. It almost looked like the oil was coming from between the body of the pump and the mounting bracket. What can I use to remove the foot powder? Is it worth leaving it on to help identify if/when the leak occurs in the future?

It sounds like I’m going to have quite he project on my hands with the reeds, so if I can’t clearly find the leak, I’ll likely put this on the back burner for now.

[lpugh]

If using DFI oil as you should be, you use UV light with the appropriate glasses to see the path of the oil leak, DFI oil contains a tracing dye.

[EuropeanAM]

+1 on DFI oil (the Premium PLUS also has dye as well).

I will likely order my gaskets from European marine so I’m sure the parts department will be able to help me with the exact part numbers for the gaskets. I know TDR and Chris Carson reeds both come highly recommended, is there a preferred aftermarket option? Any reason to go one over another?

I have found the TDR Reeds to provide the best balance of durability, longevity, running quality, proper fitment and price for me and my customers. They are the ONLY aftermarket reed we sell or offer.

Rhonda carries those reeds in our Parts Department- you would need to place that order by email as they are aftermarket items.

[Bigbassfish]

The UV lights is a fantastic idea! Sounds like I’ll be cleaning up the foot powder and waiting to see if anything else leaks back out, and try and go from there. From the brief search I did it sounds like any yellow tinted uv glasses should work for this?

do I need to be worried about getting a new reed block or should that still be usable?

[EuropeanAM]

Reed blocks are "usually" re-usable. Optimax have better odds since fuel never touches them.

UV glasses AND light required to play OSI (similar to CSI, but it's oil).

[Bigbassfish]

Is there anything else diagnostic wise I can do to maybe confirm the reeds are in fact the issue? I received a quote for all the replacement parts and I’m really hesitant to pull the trigger, feeling like it may just be a shot in the dark. I don’t mind the cost if I knew this is actually a step in getting the motor to run well, my fear is that I’m going to continue dumping money into this chasing a mystery issue, when I’m starting to get to the point of a decent down payment on a repower.

[Bigbassfish]

Let me ask like this, is there anything else I can attempt to diagnose or test that COULD be a culprit so I can atleast knock some other variables off my list? I’ve heard maybe it could be a coil issue, or a temperature sender issue. Are there any other sensors that could be the culprit? The boat has been running so poorly, I’ve started noticing a 300rpm drop or so when trimming the motor up or down at idle speeds, but not every time, and I can’t tell if it’s correlated to the rough running or not. I’m not sure if this is just now arising, or if I’m just noticing it. Seems to now that it’s become more frequent for the motor to just die with any added load, trimming or going into gear. Unlike before, there are times when it’s not so much as a stall and shutter, as it almost seems like you just flipped the key off. I’ve read through countless forum posts and nothing seems to be the exact symptoms I’m having.

[EuropeanAM]

Based on what you have available and what you've checked so far, the best method to determine if reeds are the problem is to REMOVE and INSPECT them. However: Getting the steel reeds OUT of there is also a very wise move as they make a pretty big mess when they break and get pulled through the engine.

Hope that helps....

[Bigbassfish]

Thanks…I’m trying to square myself away with the big ticket items I may be needing, such as an oil pump. I started looking around with UV and I can’t really seem to find a logical place it’s seeping from. The Allen head bolt still appears dry, and it definitely appears to be very slowly seeping from between the actual body of the pump itself and the mounting bracket. As far as I can tell this doesn’t really make sense as it’s just a solid piece of metal right there with nowhere to leak from. The top and sides of the pump seem dry as well, I didn’t see anything that looked like dripping or running down the engine, just near the pump mounting bolts. I really want this thing to be fixed, but I’d feel much better dropping the coin on reeds, if I was fairly confident im not also going to be in the market for a $700 oil pump.

[EuropeanAM]

Just keep in mind that with only a limited number of exceptions, oil leaks USUALLY originate from the "highest mounted damp component" (oil will run downhill unless propelled by pressure or moving components).

[1ranger487vs]

Not to alarm you but my opti had a hairline crack in the block in that area. Mine was leaking when it was running very bad I might add