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How to find oil leak in mercruiser inboard?

D

DPForumDog

New member
We have a mercruiser 3.0 that has an oil leak. A few weeks ago and we just used it for the first time since last year and it was dry. We filled it with oil that day and this weekend the dip stick wouldnt register. Paw said it is leaking all the way down in the oil pan. Maybe a bad gasket or plug. (Paw says there is no plug) or rusted pan but how would something filled with oil rust?

How do we find the leak without pulling the engine?

It's not from wear or overuse because we only drive it 5 times a year for about an hour at the most. We were even thinking the most economical thing to do is just add a couple quarts everytime we get use it. But we would need to determine how fast it was leaking. but of course I would rather fix the leak without pulling the engine. I

Any ideas shared would be appreciated.

Thanks
Granny DP
DPForumDog.

Our boat has a 2002 Fisher 22 ft pontoon boat with a mercruiser 3.0 Inboard motor
 
If it was leaking from the oil pan you would see oil in the bilge...Do you ? And yes pans can and do rust... usually from having a bilge with high water levels...
 
Steel oil pans do rust.

As far as finding the leak, they sell a dye you can add to the oil and then you run the engine and look at it with a black light (UV source)...the dye is normally easy to see and your trace back up to the source...
 
As said above, if it is leaking that bad , you should see signs of oil under motor. Tilt boat all the way up, some dawn soap and water, clean bilge good. Top off oil in motor. Get an adjustable mechanic mirror and flashlight. If leaking that bad probably don't need to start motor. Look at oil pan drain plug ( like on a car) should be a brass plug with a rubber extraction hose hooked to it. That more than likely where leak is, rubber hose or rust on metal pan where plug is. If you can't find leak, then run on hose.
 
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