Oil Leak

[Evening Shade]

Went to winterize my 2011 ZR450 yesterday and found oil in the bilge after backing the boat on the trailer in to the water. I started the engine briefly to see try to see where the oil was leaking from. Turned the engine off and checked the dip stick. There was no water in the oil, but the oil level was at the bottom of the hash marks on the dipstick. I started the engine again to see if I could see a leak. Long story short, the only place I could see oil leaking from was the oil filter, but what's concerning to me is that after only running the engine for 8-10 minutes the oil was barely touching the dipstick. It never lost oil pressure. I took the boat home and changed the oil. The old filter was screwed on tight and when I took it off the filter including the rubber seal looked fine. I couldn't see any leaks after filling the engine with oil, but wont have time to run the engine until Saturday.

Has anyone ever had oil leak from the filter with one of the remote filter locators? It didn't seem like enough oil was coming from the filter to almost empty the pan. Anyone have any thoughts?

[Quinner]

Did you check that the old filter gasket was not stuck to the filter mount before installing the new oil filter?? Ideally you should also fill the new filter with oil before installing.

Probably not that cold in Georgia, ran my boat a few weeks ago on a 45deg day and noticed the filter was leaking a little bit, figured the cold may have been affecting the rubber gasket.

[Evening Shade]

Quinner,

The old filter gasket was still on the filter (K&N) and was intact. The oil in the bilge appeared to have been there for a little while. Like maybe the last time I ran my boat which was about 2 months ago. This never has happened before. It seemed like a lot of drained into the bilge in a short period of time to go from the bottom of the hash marks to the bottom of the dipstick in less than 10 minutes. It just didn't appear to be leaking quarts of oil from the filter, but I can't find any other sources that are leaking.

Now on a side note, I did use 5w40 synthetic oil on that change thinking I would get better startup protection than with 15w40. It didn't leak for 20-30 hours of use with the 5w40, but I wonder if that has anything to do with it. I replaced that oil with conventional 15w40 and a FL-1A filter. I will test it Saturday for leaks.

[Quinner]

Sure wouldn't think a lower viscosity oil would create a leak?? Synthetic should be fine for that motor I would reference the manual however for recommended viscosity.
If the leak appears to be at the filter I would still suspect it is a gasket issue, I would unscrew the filter enough to confirm there is not a second gasket there. If that proves to be OK check the lines in/out of the remote filter and also check the drain hose from the oil pan. +/-2 quarts is quite a bit to lose so the leak shouldn't be too hard to find.

[Evening Shade]

The gasket appeared fine on the old filter and I couldn't feel a gasket on the remote filter mounting base. I felt the drain hose coming from the oil pan and couldn't feel oil leaking from there, but I can't see the hose. I couldn't find any leaks coming from the filter supply and return lines.

[Beg4wake]

From a personal experience I had this past year on my XStar that happened twice before I ended up figuring out why...I put a WIX oil filter on there per recommendations of a replacement filter from over on the Mastercraft Forum. While WIX is a great filter and it did cross reference with the stock one (which is no longer in production), it was actually a bit longer in size. Being longer I found that it was actually barely rubbing on a bracket bolt causing it to rub a hole into the bottom of the filter (took this happening to 2 filters before I realized it was the bolt causing the hole). Now when visually inspecting it looking for the leak...like you I noticed oil in the bilge...I too could tell it was coming from the filter, but couldn't tell from where. It wouldn't leak until we started the motor, and even then it was barely dripping. Couldn't tell why that would cause almost a full quart low. What you may want to do, is start the motor (make sure it has enough oil and you may wanna surround the filter with rags), then add some throttle to it...you should find the exact leak REAL QUICK!! We did this and that's when I noticed oil shooting from the pinhole that was in it! With the motor only idling, it was only dripping, but when the oil pressure went up along with the throttle, it shot out!! The pin hole was so small that we even had trouble finding it once we removed the filter! Most of the oil that leaked out most likely came from when the boat was under throttle, not just idling! Just my own experience...hope it helps.

PS....I too got the "you didn't leave the old seal on there, did ya" from just about everybody. While I know it's an easy mistake...I think I've changed oil once or twice and know to check for that! haha

[Evening Shade]

Beg,

Mine appeared to be leaking from the seal and running down the side of the filter. I too have done hundreds of oil changes over the years in cars and boats. I've never had a seal separate from the filter, but I always lube the seal real well before installing a new filter.

[Beg4wake]

Beg,

Mine appeared to be leaking from the seal and running down the side of the filter. I too have done hundreds of oil changes over the years in cars and boats. I've never had a seal separate from the filter, but I always lube the seal real well before installing a new filter.

Did replacing the filter stop the leak? I would Still drop the boat in the water and have somebody watch things while the boat is under throttle (higher oil pressure) to see and make sure the leak is fixed. Again, what appeared to be a small leak at idle, may have been way worse when under more pressure, resulting in the amount of fluid loss you saw!

[Evening Shade]

I will test it on Saturday to check for leaks.

[j2nh]

Check the quick drain oil connector at the pan. I had one that leaked, was fixed under warranty, and then began leaking again. The problem is there is poor access in this area. If there are no obvious leaks on the engine I would put my money on that brass connector. (ZR)

[Evening Shade]

It appears that the oil leak was coming from the filter, which was on tight. I changed the filter and checked for leaks everywhere including the (not so quick) drain connector. Changing the filter solved the problem. I ran the engine for about 10 mins and voila. No more oil leak.

[Beg4wake]

Good to hear you got it solved! Most times than not, in a system so developed as the PCM engine, the weakest link is usually the cheapest...being the oil filter that is made in mass production and only costs a few bucks!

[Tryathlete]

Don't like to admit it but I double gasketed this Spring. Ugh. Never ever again. Sometimes the ring can get twisted too--make sure it's very wet in oil before installation.


Sooner or later your toys own you

[peteSki]

Don't like to admit it but I double gasketed this Spring. Ugh. Never ever again. Sometimes the ring can get twisted too--make sure it's very wet in oil before installation.


Sooner or later your toys own you

I hear ya. I did many, many oil changes on my previous boat, a 97 Ski Nautique over the years, and earlier this year I managed to forget to check for the old filter gasket so ended up with 2 on a friends boat.... it blew out while I was running the engine on land to get the new oil circulated etc.... I had oil streaming out all over the carpet, upholstery etc.... took me 3 times as long to clean it all up than to do the actual oil change! Never again indeed!