Oil in bilge,

[JODA]

Hi, I have 2003 4-Tech super charged with 80 Hrs on the clock.
I lifted my trailer up to drain the bilge on my ski after I had hosed the engine bay down. I noticed what looks like quite a bit of oil on the ground with the water.
Has any body got some ideas where I should start looking for the leak.
Do these ski's have a common fault at 80 Hrs I should have serviced.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,

 

[devonte007]

These engines are not known for oil leaks. First off, who usually works on your ski, you or a dealer for oil changes, etc.?

The reason I ask is that it is very easy to spill engine oil when you are refilling through the fill tube. You need to pour it in very slowly or it will overflow and drip down into the boat/ski. How much oil was in the bilge, and is it possible this may have happened? Was the engine oil low and if so how much?

If not, then you need to look for a leak somewhere. There are all sorts of seals and hoses that could be leaking or have come loose. The only way to diagnose may be to top off the engine oil and let it run, then do a thorough inspection in and around the engine to spot leaks. There is an engine oil cooler down on the lower right side of the engine (if looking from the rear) and one of the hose clamps may be loose, if not then maybe the pto seal is leaking. It is really hard to say since there are a dozen places it could leak from. Have you had your supercharger rebuilt recently? It could be leaking from around that area if it was not installed properly.

Hope this helps some, post back and let us know what you find.

 

[JODA]

Thanks for your advice.
Any engine work to date has been done by the dealer, including the last oil change which was about 20hrs ago. No work has been done on the supercharger yet. Although I believe it will need work at 100hrs. Will cross that bridge later. I am hoping that I can start doing my own maintenance from now on.
The oil level was fine last time I used the ski, but was very low (Just at very tip of dipstick) when I checked it again after noticing all the oil mixed with water from the bilge. It took 2 litres to top back up to correct level.
I am going to give the bilge a thorough clean, then start the engine to see if I can observe any leaks.
I am noticing that most of the oil is coming from the RH (Starboard) bung, so maybe the oil cooler is a good place to start looking.
Will keep you posted as to what I find.
Regards,

 

[JODA]

Hi,I cleaned the bilge and it appears the oil is coming from around the coupling at the back of the engine. I'm guessing this means the rear crank seal is leaking. This looks like a major job. Does the engine need to come out? If so is this difficult. Looks like I will need to get some manuals.
Any advice.
Regards.

 

[Andrew_lbreman]

I had a main bearing on the drive shaft go and every time i ran it it would dump oil in the hull. Anyway if you pull the jet pump and the drive shaft the bearing and boot is held on by one hose clamp and as such it is easy to check. I pulled the bearing and the seal apart and was easily able to tell the seal was damaged. It looks like a pinion seal on a axle drive shaft. I spent alot of time and money to find this solution and all said and done I rebuilt the entire motor in finding it. I am from the 80 hr range now to 140 and no problems since.

ps there is a special tool for removing the drive shaft, it is worth both downloading the manual and buying the tool. The right tool will change things from nightmare to managed.

 

[Andrew_lbreman]

9Furthermore, if it is the rear cover(rear crank seal as you stated), that is the pto stator cover and as i have rebuilt 2 of these 4tecs now (because i bought them both damaged) I found that it seems unlikely to be leaking from the actual seal but more that rear bearing.

 

[JODA]

Thanks for your advice. So I can do this job without pulling the motor out.
Any ideas where can I buy the tools online, as I am in New Zealand.
Thanks.

 

[Andrew_lbreman]

Yeah definately without pulling the motor. There are 4 nuts to remove on the transom that connect the jet pump. Then also disconnect the reverse/trim/steering cables. Then gently remove the pump. After that the drive shaft goes into the hull through a carbon ring then has a c clip that is kinda hidden pushed tightly to the carbon ring and boot that is over the hole the shaft goes through. This clip needs to be removed. The tool I was speaking of it a spreader so you can get at it. It makes things easier. The first time I didn't use it though. I pulled the battery and loosed the four motor mount bolts then with a hoist lifted slightly and pushed the motor forward toward the battery spot and gained enough room to remove the ring. After that pull the bearing boot combo off and take it apart to check for any swelling in the seal. Now if you get the spreader you leave the motor in place and place it between the shaft and carbon ring separating it enough to get the ring off. I know a guy in the us that will probably ship worldwide the tool is around 70$ US currency and the bearing was 100$ US. It is Senica Powersports in Maryland, United States. His number is (410) 335-5050. You should check with the board store first to help support it but I don't think they ship international so if anything try ebay. The tool exampl is "SeaDoo Drive Shaft Floating Ring Tool ". Just make sure you get one rates for your hp as there are two different sizes.

 

[JODA]

Thanks again,
Will purchase a manual then sort out the tool once I understand the layout better.
I will keep u posted once I make some progress.
Regards.

 

[ski-d00]

you don't need the tool, it can be easily changed without it. you can grab the collar and twist it to free it up, then wiggle, wiggle, twist and push back to expose the c- ring, then pop the c- ring off. then don't just try to pull the driveshaft out, you should have someone pull with slight pressure and then tap the bearing inner race with a brass punch and the bearing will come free very easily, then the drivehsaft is out.

I have the tool and never use it, not worth the trouble of putting it in and have done it more times than I can remember. That bearing does tend to leak, fairly common oil leak problem.

 

[JODA]

Thanks for your advice. I'm still mustering up enough courage to tackle this job. I've been told the difficulty depends on how corroded parts are on to the drive shaft.