Visit our Popular Forums

Chotu · 15-12-2022, 09:35

I’ve never seen this behavior before.

This is an Evinrude etec 30.

The amount of oil used looks appropriate to the usage of the engine yesterday.

This engine was acting a little strange yesterday at the start of the day. It went into limp home mode, but a shift to neutral then back into gear and up to normal cruising RPMs had it running strong all day.

I deliberately ran it all day to make sure it was ok.

Seemed fine.

Wasn’t run at all today as there is some weather coming through and I’m just sitting at anchor until it passes.

Without dismantling the engine, I’m not sure where this could be coming from.

Any thoughts?

Is this 2 stroke oil dripping down? Gear lube dripping up? (It was submerged)

capt jgw · 15-12-2022, 09:47

The opaque blue color tells me two stroke oil mixed with water. Gear oil is amber colored and smells really bad. Is there any odor? I see it has an oil tank instead of mixing with the gas, could water have gotten into the tank? It would be at the bottom so maybe not visible.

Chotu · 15-12-2022, 09:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by capt jgw

The opaque blue color tells me two stroke oil mixed with water. Gear oil is amber colored and smells really bad. Is there any odor? I see it has an oil tank instead of mixing with the gas, could water have gotten into the tank? It would be at the bottom so maybe not visible.

Yes. The only reason I was thinking possible gear oil was that the gear oil was blue and very fresh. It was just changed. Everything is brand new with these engines.

But you’re right. There is no odor whatsoever so that’s a good clue.

Water cannot get into that tank. It has a cap on the top. The top is also at the very top of the cowling. And then the tank goes off to whatever plumbing attaches it to the injectors.

That whatever plumbing is many many layers inside behind all of the computers and wires and various hoses running everywhere. It’s not an at anchor type of fix on a rough day. Which I really was hoping it would be.

I’m going to have to keep an eye on that tank and see if it drops at all. Funny that nothing happened yesterday and this happens at anchor instead.

Best case is maybe one of the hoses slipped off somehow. Or maybe even one of the hoses got a leak and broke.

rslifkin · 15-12-2022, 10:17

Does it look like there's any oil leaked into the bottom of the cowling?

Oeanda · 15-12-2022, 10:21

Ugh the dreaded Etec. We have the same year 30hp and it’s mainly lived at the shop ever since we bought it, though yours is one of the few problems we haven’t had with it yet. I’d vote for a simple disconnect or break somewhere in the hoses though. The plastic cowling is easy to get apart and you’ll gain a better view of the plumbing. The LED codes on the top of the engine may tell you something when it goes into safe mode. Beyond that, there’s not much DIY to do on these things, which are basically a computer with a propeller attached. The diagnostic software is pretty cheap if you continue to have various issues. So you can plug it in and see what faults come up- but what then….?

Chotu · 15-12-2022, 10:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by rslifkin

Does it look like there's any oil leaked into the bottom of the cowling?

You can barely see into the bottom of the cowling. Too many computer components. It’s like looking into the heart of a robot.

But I’ll try to take a look with a mirror and light.

It’s in an OK place for working on it, but not ideal. You are sitting on the swim steps.

rslifkin · 15-12-2022, 10:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chotu

You can barely see into the bottom of the cowling. Too many computer components. It’s like looking into the heart of a robot.

But I’ll try to take a look with a mirror and light.

It’s in an OK place for working on it, but not ideal. You are sitting on the swim steps.

Poking around with a paper towel on a stick can help if you can't really see. Just poke around a little and see if you soak up anything useful.

Chotu · 15-12-2022, 10:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oeanda

Ugh the dreaded Etec. We have the same year 30hp and it’s mainly lived at the shop ever since we bought it, though yours is one of the few problems we haven’t had with it yet. I’d vote for a simple disconnect or break somewhere in the hoses though. The plastic cowling is easy to get apart and you’ll gain a better view of the plumbing. The LED codes on the top of the engine may tell you something when it goes into safe mode. Beyond that, there’s not much DIY to do on these things, which are basically a computer with a propeller attached. The diagnostic software is pretty cheap if you continue to have various issues. So you can plug it in and see what faults come up- but what then….?

I’ve been meaning to get that software for years. I think I should. I don’t mind electronics on cars other than that point. Sensors are always the only thing that breaks on a car. Probably similar on the Etec.

I’m actually pretty comfortable fixing computers and what not. That’s not too much of an issue for me. I just need to be able to read the codes so I am clued into what’s happening.

In this case, I agree it’s probably just some hose or something leaking. It wouldn’t make sense for the engine to do this in any other way. I’ll have to take a closer look. It’s not in a great place to work on it. It could be worse on some outboard bracket or something. But it’s still not the best spot to sit in rough weather playing with the engine. I’ll wait till it calms down a little bit this afternoon after the rain.

Oeanda · 15-12-2022, 10:32

I think you’ll have to take the cowling apart.

Chotu · 15-12-2022, 10:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by rslifkin

Poking around with a paper towel on a stick can help if you can't really see. Just poke around a little and see if you soak up anything useful.

Oooh. Great idea!

Chotu · 15-12-2022, 10:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oeanda

I think you’ll have to take the cowling apart.

Yuck. Looks like I now have some boat work to do today on my “no boat work” day. Lol

Chotu · 15-12-2022, 13:12

It’s just too nasty out today to deal with this. Hopefully it doesn’t cause too much of a delay on my delivery up to the rigger.

So what is really surprising is there is no less two-stroke oil than there was when I first posted this thread. Hours ago. I checked. The level hasn’t moved even 1/16 of an inch.

So that’s pretty confusing. I wonder if one time a long time ago I spilled some in the bottom of the outboard or whatever. Inside the cowling. And because the Outboards now ride lower in the water, old oil got loosened up by all the water that splashes around closer to the bottom of the cowling now.

That’s a longshot. But the level didn’t change. So it’s hard to figure out what might be going wrong with the oil in the tank remains the same.

More investigation will be needed. It’s not a gravity leak. It’s just not a nice day to sit on the stern and look at this thing.