oil on transom when tilted up overnight on F225

[Performance42]

I noticed oil on transom when tilted up overnight on my F225.

I had added a quart of oil a week earlier because it showed oil on the tip of the dip stick
now it's in the middle of the hash marks on the dip stick
Could the oil I added have caused the oil leaking onto transom?

 

[drbatts]

Was the dipstick seated back properly after you checked the level?

 

[DennisG01]

When you added the oil, what did the new oil level show on the dipstick?

 

[seasick]

To check the oil level, tilt the motor down and level. Let sit for 10 minute to an hour depending on how cold it is. Check the level. If you over filled the oil pan when you added the oil, it can lead to the oil foaming as it gets smacked by moving parts. The foamed oil will overflow and run down to the bottom of the cowling. It may or may not have a way to drain until the motor is tilted up.

Perhaps you checked the oil level too soon after a run. Residual oil may not have had time to settle down and your low oil reading may have been incorrect.

 

[wspitler]

I check the oil by tilting the engine up onto the lift cylinders for about 10-15 minutes, again depending on the temp and whether the engine had been run recently. That lets any residual oil that is behind the pistons (crank side) run back into the pan since the cylinders are horizontal. Then I tilt the engine until the flywheel or anti-cavitation plate is very level. I actually us a level, normally on the flywheel. I have found that due to the shape of the oil pan, the level on the dip stick is very sensitive to an engine that is only slightly tilted. It also helps to check it more than once. For some reason, even after wiping off the dipstick, the level may not be accurate on the first try. In your case, if the filter is leaking, that could be the cause of oil on the transom when tilted up as well. Yamaha recommends that we not fill the level to full, but half way between full and low. It is difficult to change the oil filter without spilling some oil in the cowling and very difficult to clean completely. That oil sometimes leaks out once the motor is tilted up. Another possible source.

 

[Halfhitch]

On 4 stroke Yamahas there is a plastic intake air box/silencer on the front of the engine with a crankcase vent hose connected to it. It is part of the emission system. After running for a few hours a bit of oil can build up in that silencer due to a slight oil mist in the recycled crankcase air. When you tip the engine all the way up as if you were trying to keep the lower unit out of the water while moored then that little bit of oil will drain out onto the transom and into the splash-well. My 2005 did this and it took me awhile to figure out the cause of it.

 

[seasick]

On 4 stroke Yamahas there is a plastic intake air box/silencer on the front of the engine with a crankcase vent hose connected to it. It is part of the emission system. After running for a few hours a bit of oil can build up in that silencer due to a slight oil mist in the recycled crankcase air. When you tip the engine all the way up as if you were trying to keep the lower unit out of the water while moored then that little bit of oil will drain out onto the transom and into the splash-well. My 2005 did this and it took me awhile to figure out the cause of it.

Good info. Learn something new every day.

 

[jigstrike]

I too had a little oil in the splashwell of my Marlin. It was coming from the hydraulic steering hoses. Check those. Easy to replace.

 

[Fishtales]

Check those hydraulic hoses. I had one burst where the strain relief plastic sleeve stops. Hard to see it wearing. If you loose the hose, you lose steering.

 

[Performance42]

I too had a little oil in the splashwell of my Marlin. It was coming from the hydraulic steering hoses. Check those. Easy to replace.

it's not hydraulic fluid. It's engine oil. Haven't figured it out yet, but neither has my mokanic, and he's taken 100 PHs off boats like mine.

Funny thing, years ago I was drift fishing a navy AUTEC buoy 30 miles offshore (alone), and I noticed a sheen on the water and thought it was gas.

Then I noticed a red fluid slowly dripping from one of the steering Rams.

When I motored up to head home I had no steering - the wheel just turned.

I managed to get the boat on plane and got home at 40 mph by using the boat's trim tabs to steer. Down on the Port tab and the boat would veer right.

I sent the leaking steering Rams to a hydraulic shop in Tampa, and they fixed them good and fast for a few hundred.

To the other poster halfhitch about the oil coming from the plastic breather in front on a Yamaha. Good point. I have run into that once or twice. I'll take my hand and run it underneath the breather tomorrow. If it's really oily, I'll see it.
Too much oil on the transom for the breather to be the cause IMO.

My mokanic's helper said not to overfill with engine oil, and look for an engine oil alarm. Only problem with that is the 2005 F225 does'nt have a low oil or overfill alarm or warning.