2008 Challenger 180 - Oily engine Comartment

[SaltLife]

2008 Challenger 180 - Oily engine Compartment

Hey guys,

Came home from a short ride today. We picked up some old driftwood from the lake shore (my wife watches too much HGTV) and we put it in the ski locker. When we got home, we had some water in the ski locker (normal) but it seemed to be pretty oily. The engine compartment was the same way - just a nasty brownish film on the bottom of the hull around the engine. I checked the engine oil level and it looked good.

Any ideas on this?

For now, I just shop-vac'd it out and I plan to get some degreaser and give it a really good cleaning when I get a minute and then check it the next time out...

Any information on this will be greatly appreciated~!!

Thanks,
~SL~

 

[scottbruns]

Check the oil filter cover. There is a small o-ring under the cover that is not included in the normal maintenance kit. So there are 3 o-rings, not just the 2 that come in the kit with the new oil filter.

Mine leaked and I got a small amount of oil in the bilge and ski locker. With a clean rag I could wipe the top of the oil filter and get a bit of oil. It should normally be completely oil free.

 

[pete63]

give the bilge a wash out with a bilge cleaner or soap and see if it still there. can have spilt oil from topping up oil level. most likely left there for some time.

 

[SaltLife]

Thanks for the responses~! I'll check the oil filter cover and I'm going to give it a good cleaning and see what happens next time.

On a related issue, do any of you guys remove the engine compartment hatch for better access? It's a real pain laying on your stomach trying to get to places in there... I was just curious, I was thinking about removing mine so I can investigate a few of my issues a little easier..

Thanks guys~~!

~SL~

 

[RowdyRod]

I agree it's a real pain in the a... actually more of a pain in the chest! One of the best bits of advice I got from this forum was to have a pillow dedicated for use when working on the engine!

I've had to remove the cover on my speedster twice for removing the engine, it certainly makes access easier, but it's a two man job. The cover is very heavy and must be carefully installed to ensure the correct alignment. Unless you need to pull the engine or you have a stuck driveshaft I would leave it on. I suspect the challenger cover is similar to the speedster.

 

[SaltLife]

Thanks Rowdy~!

 

[scottbruns]

I built a temporary bench to lie on whe working on my engines. Just some scrap plywood and 2x4s. Much better than a pillow alone.

You can see some photos in this post: http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?77299-What-I-did-to-my-4-tec-boat-today&p=512524&viewfull=1#post512524