Massive Oil Leak - 2006 SANTE

[jkallen21]

So this was my first weekend ever on our new (to us) 2006 SANTE and it wasn't great. I learned the hard way what the bilge toggle switch is for. That set me back about 3 hours from even being able to start the boat (after replacing two dead batteries). Also had a number of breakers blow (blowers, ballast pumps, etc). But all that was nothing compared to the fact that 3 days in to the weekend, I noticed "chocolate milk" in the bilge (a healthy mix of oil and water). I thought at first that the bilge might have been dirty and the water was just mixing with it. But investigation showed it to be too thick. The dipstick showed I was a qt low so I bought a quart to get back to the slip. Upon arrival at the slip (10 mins)m I was again a qt low. hmmm - not good. I bought a gallon of oil to get the boat to the ramp - about 15 mins. I stopped twice along the way to fill it. I estimate I was losing a qt per 5 mins at 15 MPH. I checked the idiot stuff like around the oil filter and oil input. Nada - no issues there. The boat is at the marina now - in queue for another week to get looked at. I thought I'd ask the question here - what the heck could blow that would cause a leak like this? Definitely a seal of some sort - but wherever it is, it's not visible up top. As one might imagine, the bilge pump is less than pleased so I turned off completely. The blown breakers may be linked to all the oil and water sitting in the bilge but that is just a guess. Thanks for any opinions.

-Jeff

[Neverenough]

Man sorry your having bad luck with your new boat. I guess they all have bugs even the new ones. Is it a 330 or zr6? I'm not sure if they offered a zr6 in your boat but it would be important to when looking at the oil cooler. There is a good chance it's an oil line going to the cooler or the cooler itself was cracked over the winter????? Could be a hose up to the remote filter location or even the remote filter part that mounts where a oil filter would screw on to the block. Either way it sounds like you have a pressure leak. It's pumping oil out as it running. Best thing to do would be to get it hooked up to water and get everything out of the way so you can start it and look around with a light. If your losing that kinda oil it would be obvious at idle. There's a chance of a oil galley plug and oil would be running down in between the Trans and block but oil pressure would be really low. I bet it's a cooler or line.

[Woody_tobius_jr]

Could it be possible that the oil drain hose dropped down out of its holder and the valve isn't closed on it?

[gride]

sounds like a leak at your oil pan where the quick drain hose attaches. i hope it's not, but i've seen it before cause the same issue your speaking of on the same engine.

[jkallen21]

Let me answer a few questions and ask a few. I don't know if it's a ZR6, but I know it's a 375 hp engine made by PCM. The quick drain hose could be a possibility and here's why:
It's properly in its holder and it has the cap on, But last fall it fell down onto one of the pulleys in the engine And wore a hole through the quick drain hose. It was properly patched and I verified that it is not leaking from that location, However this was a very difficult place to get to put the patch on And maybe the guy who did it had to pull on the drain hose Making it come loose?
My only thought about this not being the problem, is that the quick drain hose is not under pressure the best I can tell, or is it? No oil leaks just sitting there turned off.
What's it like getting to the other end of the hose?

[Neverenough]

The hose will unscrew from the little 90 degree fitting that screws in the pan. Probably a pain in the *** to get at. You should be able to see a leak while running with the amount of oil you are losing. If its a 375 horse it's a zr6

[jkallen21]

Boat is getting looked at today. They said they need to remove the ballast in order to get down low enough to see what is going on under the engine. I suppose that's cheaper than pulling the engine up though. I will update you guys for sure - you have helped me a ton.

[jkallen21]

Dealer thinks the oil sending unit is either cracked or not sealed well. They are replacing it today (at $110 I might add - 3x the cost of this part!). I'll let you guys know if this fixes it. Things like this help me learn though - next time this won't be so hard and I won;t give up so early. Oil leaking out of the engine is not something I wanted to tackle this early on in my CC ownership though.

[jbach]

that's the cost of having dealers do work, sometimes inferior work at that. nobody will take as good of care of your boat as you. i have an older SAN but that ballast tank is not difficult by any means to get out. if it doesn't come out the hatch, the rear seat/seat base can easily be removed to slide it out that way. better suggestion yet is to leave it out and add 750s for ease of maintenance if nothing else.

you sitting in the hatch with the engine at idle speed would have easily diagnosed your problem of finding out where the oil was coming from. it could be a cracked housing or sending unit i suppose. or someone could have cross threaded the unit into the housing. good luck.

[jkallen21]

Talk to me about the 750s. I see they run about $150 - Do they come with a pump? Considering a replacement pump on the SAN runs over $300, I'm all for looking into something easier and cheaper. If I do, what's actual fill/drain process like?

[jbach]

not sure how your boat is set up from the factory but i have 3 jabsco ballast puppys filling a fat seat in the ski locker, and one to each 750 in the vdrive compartments. i went to that after having to remove the hard tanks for the 3rd time in a season doing standard maintenance. you gain a ton of storage when the bags are empty and can actually service the engine-trans/raw water pump/bilge pump/steering cable/ etc etc. ballast puppys are $200 a piece before discount from wakemakers. i though the 2006 210s already had them though? are yours aerator style?

[gride]

2006 was the year they switched to impeller style ballast pumps.

[s_kelley2000]

2006 was the year they switched to impeller style ballast pumps.

Correct, should be an easy swap for you. Probably just need the bags and some Fly High quick connecters. Remove the tanks and hook up the fill/empty and vent lines and you should be good to go. Give WakeMakers a call and they will let you know exactly what you need. Your ballast gauges will no longer work but that is a small price to pay for better storage when empty and much easier engine maintenance.

[Neverenough]

I dont even use the vent lines. No need. I pull hard tanks install quick connect fittings on bags and fill lines. Good to go!!! Pump sucks the bags flat,easy to fold up. Next is to cap the back side of through hull fitting on vents. Tomorrows little project!