No Oil Pressure. No Problem?

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by Thin_Water

Thanks Gmakhs. Because the engine has an ECU I can’t image that it would let the engine run without oil pressure, but if the ECU knows the oil pressure, why won’t the LCD display it since it already displays the engine water temperature.

I am hoping a Lagoon 42 owner can shed some light on this issue.

Thanks for the suggestion on the mechanic.

Autos have ECUs and most will let the engine run with low or no pressure.

The fact that a display screen exists doesn’t mean there is a sender or that the manufacturer installed one. For the money I’d pay to have senders installed and see what happens.

[River Cruiser]

I have no idea how this engine is setup to start with or without oil pressure. I do know caterpillar had engines 40 years ago that would not start without oil pressure. Oil pressure moved a small piston that allowed the rack to move into the fuel position.

[MCOS]

Originally Posted by Compass790

I would screw a mechanical gauge in where the sender is & check as others suggest. Make sure you view it yourself & make sure the engine is fully warmed up as the oil pressure drops when it's hot
It may well only be a sensor problem but it would be mad to take the brokers word for it.

I agree with this 100 percent. A mechanical pressure gauge cost very little, probably under $20. Get one, remove the electrical sensor and screw in the mechanical gauge. Have someone start the engine while you watch the gauge. Should go up to at least 20 pounds or more right away and then drop off a bit as the oil warms up. No pressure and I would run not walk away from the deal.

I find it hard to believe an engine would run under load for 30 minutes with no oil pressure without seriously overheating and sounding like a bunch of marble rattling in a tin can, or even smoking.

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by MCOS

I find it hard to believe an engine would run under load for 30 minutes with no oil pressure without seriously overheating and sounding like a bunch of marble rattling in a tin can, or even smoking.

Exactly, and that is why (to me at least) i believe both engines had oil pressure, there was just no indication of it other than both where not 'seriously overheating and sounding like a bunch of marbles rattling in a tin can, or even smoking'......

[Wotname]

Yep, bot engines have oil pressure.

But... there isn't any indication to the operator if the oil pressure fails - apparently!

Regardless of what we say or what the Yanmar rep says, the only way to know if this is intended or not, is to read the boat manual, the engine manual and follow the schematic drawings.

If the drawings show there should be audile alarm, then there should be and vice versa.

[captstu]

On my Yanmar, there were two different conditions shown in the service manual. 1) zero oil pressure - likely a serious problem if true ad 2) no oil pressure - that is indicator is blank or --- (I have two indicators),

The second problem happened when I took the boat into Yanmar for a service recall - the oil pressure was reading low. They put in a software fix and turned the pressure into ---. They could not put it back the way it was - charged e $1k and said, "if we could have fixed it, Yanar would have paid."

A second dealer recommended by Yanmar also could not fix it, but at least they didn't charge me.

I put in an "idiot light" sensor and gave up trying to fix whatever the first dealer busted. In the meantime, I double-checked with a mechanical oil pressure sensor/gauge.

If it were up to me, I'd reject the boat until they got it fixed to read pressure as expected.

The manual clearly says, "oil pressure readings are not considered by the engine control unit."

[stormalong]

You could agree to withhold funds from the sale to cover the cost of installing proper oil pressure senders that would work with the electronic display or you could make the installation of the senders a condition of sale.

I would not have a marine engine without an oil pressure gauge. A change in observed oil pressure (other than the warmup drop) is a sign of trouble coming.

[Charles S]

I agree. Find the problem!
Call MACK BORING YANMAR (908) 964-0700;259
to ask their opinion and get your own diesel mechanic to add his opinion.
Agent sounds dangerous and deceptive.
Best wishes

[tgradyv7m]

Seems like I would want to know if the engine had enough oil pressure at startup AND if that pressure changed over time. With my Yanmar I have analog gage and constantly monitor it and record changes. I would love to have a digital as backup...

[Thin_Water]

Originally Posted by Charles S

I agree. Find the problem!
Call MACK BORING YANMAR (908) 964-0700;259
to ask their opinion and get your own diesel mechanic to add his opinion.
Agent sounds dangerous and deceptive.
Best wishes

I will absolutely get a second opinion from a qualified mechanic. The sale is contingent on proper oil pressure for both engines and the audible alarms working. Matagorda, a Lagoon 42 owner on this forum, did post that the oil pressure senders are actually optional. His boat did not come with any installed, but he purchased them separately.

It looks to me that each engine panel has independent audible alarms. Either they are both broken, no longer installed by Lagoon (per broker), or disconnected.

All the shops I have called so far are closed for the holidays, so it may be next week before I can talk with a mechanic familiar with the Lagoon 42.

[A la carte]

I had issues with the oil pressure for an older Yanmar (Oil pressure indicated very low
, but the engine ran fine). Turned out to be the oil pressure sensor and was related to the issue of Yanmar parts vs non-Yanmar parts. I found the people at Yanmar.com to be very helpful and responsive. An email or a call to them might save you much research.

[Blisters]

I have a 2015 Lagoon 40MY which I bought new in France. I had the same issue on my sea trial and learned that neither of my common rail engines had senders installed. Lagoon claimed the same reason you have been told. My surveyor didn’t accept the response and senders were installed by another Lagoon dealer. Regardless of my or others information, I would also urge you to have an independent Yanmar technician confirm this prior to closing on your desk.

Good luck!

[enjoy]

Also you could call NIEMIEC, a great Yanmar dealer, in RI: 508-997-1805. They would be able to confirm.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by kmacdonald

I'd like to see that backed up with something. I certainly don't believe it.

I would talk directly to the owner. It appears the owner or broker or both aren't being honest about what the problem is and furthermore tried to cover it up by disabling the buzzers. Then the broker said that Yanmar said it was normal. This points to the broker being the problem. It's not unusual for a broker to sell parts, equipment, ECU's, etc off absentee owners boats and replacing the defective units on the boat listed. Don't know if that's the case here or if the owner is withholding info but it's clear that at least the broker tried to cover it up. You really need to talk to the owner at this point.

As far as auto’s it’s very common and has been for a long time.
All Mazda Miata’s require oil pressure before fuel pressure is enabled, and the Toyota Prius ECU also checks for oil pressure before enabling ignition.
I believe in both cases it’s actually to shut the engine down in a roll over, not to protect the engine, I believe that is a required feature in auto’s just as there is I believe a roll over valve in the fuel tank fill to prevent fuel spillage in a roll over.

[simio47]

I’m the project manager at Palm Tree Marine in Grenada. We are the main Yanmar agents on the island. It’s quite common for boat builders to save money by not paying the extra dollars for the senders to give the oil pressure on the panel and that’s why you’re seeing the ——— . But ALL engines should come with the oil pressure switches for the alarm systems. They should be working. Should be a simple fix, the engines would be toast if you ran them foe 30 minutes with no oil pressure .