Where Did My Oil Go?

[Topper232]

I need some help from the mechanically inclined members here.

I picked up my boat from the Yamaha dealer today that did the winterization for me. The mechanic came up to show me a bucket with the oil that they removed from both of my engines. There wasn't even enough oil to fill up a one quart container. He said that most of that oil came out of the oil filters.

He asked me if it had been a few years since I had the oil changed, and I said no. I have the oil changed at the end of every season by the previous dealer that I used. That's another story.

There is no oil at the bottom of the engine compartment and there does not appear to be any external leaks, so I guess the assumption is that the oil is being burned off. I did run the boat quite a bit this year and will guess that I have about 300 hrs.

The mechanic said that it could simply be a need for new head gaskets, which is a 4 hour job per engine, according to him. He did do a compression test of each cylinder and they were all fine.

Not being engine savvy, here are my questions/ thoughts

1. Is the oil being burned off if there are no signs of leaks?
2. If it's just a head gasket issue, does it take 4 hours to tear the head off of each engine?
3. Ironic that this is happening to both engines at the same time.
4. I never received any engine codes what so ever.
5. Is it possible that the previous dealer that serviced the boat last year did not put enough oil in?
6. Should these MR1's be burning any oil at all?
7. If it's not the head gaskets, what are the other potential problems I may be looking at?

The mechanic told me to just run the boat next season and keep an eye on it. That doesn't give me warm and fuzzies. Needless to say, I'm feeling a bit nervous as this is the first mechanical issue that I've had with the boat. I know everyone always states that these MR1's are bullet proof. Did I just get a bullet hole?

Appreciate your feed back.

Thanks,

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Sounds like someone may not have removed the oil properly, I would get the engines level and check if it is now overfilled.
I always check my oil level before removing it and I usually replace what I took out with a pint extra for the filter.
I check the oil level once I get in the water and use a small extractor to get the level exactly 1/2 quart below full if it is overfilled.
occasionally dealers mess the oil changes up and overfill the engines.
I do not know who did your oil change and hopefully he did it correctly however if your engine was that low on oil your engine would not even run above limp mode and you would have been warned about the oil levels. on your info center.

 

[itsdgm]

That's weird. I don't understand a few things. How could he recommend new head gaskets if the compression is good? Also, the odds of having identical issues to both engines means that either he or the previous dealer is doing something wrong? I wonder if he didn't fire up the engines before trying to siphon out the oil?

Either way, this is why doing your own maintenance will eliminate these issues. Also, check your oil regularly (each outing) yourself just to make sure.

 

[itsdgm]

Also, forgot to mention that my engines don't burn any measurable amount of oil.

 

[Wayloncle]

I bet that's just all they sucked out, they were probably full or close to it when you dropped it off.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Check your oil levels first thing

 

[Scottintexas]

to many red flags, did you check your oil level at all this season? I'm leaning with the group that they either didn't suck it all out or that he's just trying to get some extra money out of you, two engines both burning that much oil and still running without going into limp mode or giving you a warning,

 

[Topper232]

I did check my oil levels about mid Aug and was surprised that both were low. Below the cold mark. I added 1/2 quart to each engine.

I also checked the engines when I got back home today and both are half way between the cold and hot marks.

Glad to hear that I'm not the only one finding this a bit odd.

My engines have been 100% serviced by the Yamaha dealer that I bought it from, but they no longer sell boats. To make matters worse they're in a land dispute with the business next door, so they other business put a fence up through the parking lot, so now the dealer can only service one boat at a time. Which means that you have to sit there and wait for them to do the service.

The dealer that I just used is a closer to me Sea Doo dealer that just started selling and servicing Yamahas this year.

I'm handy in woodworking, but was never shown the ins and outs of engines, so I've also used the dealer. Maybe that needs to change also.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Bruce]

If the engines were burning oil you should see residue on the hull where the exhaust comes out. I have seen this on a friends boat when he overfilled the oil.

I would remove the air filters for your first outing next year to make sure they are not damaged if the engines are overfilled.

This year I believe I put more oil back in than I sucked out. I top my engines up in the water while warm.

On the lighter side it is good to wonder where the rum has gone but not the oil.

 

[rkluck]

I can't believe both engines would burn that much oil. I think the mechanic is right. Just check your oil during the year and see what is really happening. I don't know how many hours you have but burning a little oil is not a problem. You said you checked the oil when you got home. If the boat is on the trailer you are not getting the right reading. The best way to check the oil is to have the boat in the water. Maybe they didn't take all the oil out but as mentioned above you need to make sure they didn't over fill it. I guess they could just be just flat out lying about what they took out but I prefer to go with the dealer is honest. Again by checking the oil yourself on the water next year you can see if you have any real oil consumption and if you do this regularly you will be risking damage to the engines. Just my 2 cents worth of thoughts.

 

[MrMoose]

I just bought an extractor to do my own oil changes because the dealer who did my first oil change didn't warm up the engines first. I hate to be the guy to point out that it is not wise to assume that all Yamaha dealerships meet an acceptable standard with respect to competence. @Bruce, wouldn't it be helpful if forum had a way for the members to objectively rate their dealership where the forum keeps running stats?

 

[Topper232]

Well, I guess I have the whole winter to wonder.

Thanks,

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Sounds like an incompetent dealer/mechanic, but, I have noticed that if my motors sit for few months without running, the oil won't read on the dipstick until the motor is run and brought up to operating temp.

If the ydealer did not run motors before oil change ... This small amount of oil might be possible.

 

[Big Shasta]

I know you know at this point but check your oil often....it's cheap insurance. My family would get used to the "move away from shore a bit and go dead in the water to check oil" Probably about every other time out....takes 2 minutes.

 

[Topper232]

Thanks Ken @Big Shasta. I just noticed that there's no boat listed for you. Are you in between boats now?

 

[jcyamaharider]

I will say that my boat does burn oil when surfing and I check the oil often. My compression checks good and little to no residue on the back of the boat when I use it for a whole weekend burning thru a tank of gas. Still starts and purrs like a kitten and gets 50mph on the perfect pass from time to time. I wouldn't worry about it and just keep an eye on it for next season. Just something these boat motors do.

 

[Topper232]

Thanks @jcyamaharider. I think checking the oil will be another thing to add to the list of things that I need to be anal retentive about.

 

[Ronnie]

The engines in my sx230ho used to burn about a quart of oil every three to four days on the water, so I got in the habit of checking and topping them off every two or three days in the water.

Someone on the other site ran one of his engines without oil for an entire day which fired the engine. He replaced it at a Cost of $6k to $9k, not cheap but a lesson many of us learned through his experience is monitor your levels even if only occasionally. If you take off the oil cap and hear sizzling be afraid and don't wait put some oil in right away. Better to Have too much than too little. you may destroy the stock air filter if you put too much in but they are only $100 or so to replace. The shops near me charge more than that just to take a look at it.

 

[Topper232]

thanks @Ronnie

 

[Matt Phillips]

As a good rule of thumb, put in fuel=time to check the oil.

Per my 232 Limited manual, there are two procedures for checking the oil as attached. I generally will check warm.