Oil Under Engine

[Hattie]

Hi,

 

Am a TOTAL newbie and in the process of buying my first boat (with someone who knows a tad more about boats than me). We've seen a boat we really like, it's just had a safety certificate and we're having it surveyed next week. The only thing worrying me is that there seems to be a collection of oil udnerneath the engine. The owners aren't sure why and it's obviously passed a safety check - but is this somethign I should be worried about or am I being overly concerned about something pretty normal?

 

Thanks so much in advance,

 

H

[bigste]

It should be oil free. Mention it to your surveyer and he will put you right.

[Neil2]

If it was a car wouldn't you be concerned?

 

Some of the old BMC lumps are notorious for leaking oil, and there is something of an acceptance along the lines of "they all do that" amongst many owners of these engines. But it is not acceptable and you ask the question why hasn't the current owner done anything about it? Don't think just because the boat has a BSC it's ok - far from it.

 

I would no more buy a boat that has a leaky engine than I would a car or van. Probably more so with a boat because you can't easily see where it's coming from.

 

If you really like the boat I would say it's perfectly reasonable to insist the owner puts it right at their expense before you complete the purchase.

[MtB]

If it was a car wouldn't you be concerned?

 

Some of the old BMC lumps are notorious for leaking oil, and there is something of an acceptance along the lines of "they all do that" amongst many owners of these engines. But it is not acceptable and you ask the question why hasn't the current owner done anything about it? Don't think just because the boat has a BSC it's ok - far from it.

 

I would no more buy a boat that has a leaky engine than I would a car or van. Probably more so with a boat because you can't easily see where it's coming from.

 

If you really like the boat I would say it's perfectly reasonable to insist the owner puts it right at their expense before you complete the purchase.

 

 

I disagree. The OP is looking at cheap boats and there will be stuff wrong with them. If there wasn't, they'd be expensive!

 

If an engine leaks oil, about the only consequence is that you have to top up oil at the rate it's leaking, and occasionally mop up the leaked oil. On REGINALD I have a pot under the worst leak and it goes back in the engine every week or three. Sorted! Old engines leak oil, one gets to live with it. They still work perfectly well.

 

It only becomes an issue when it leaks so fast that it becomes a drain on the pocket, or a nuisance having to top up too often.

 

MtB

P.S. actually, I thought the OP was somebody else. Ignore my comment about looking at cheap boats. Maybe she wants an expensive one!

[bottle]

Of course all that oil could be from someone without a steady hand when topping up or doing oil changes.

 

My oil filter is horizontal and when changing I always place something underneath to catch the oil and no matter how carefully I move that container there is some spillage but I always clear it up. A lot less than if I didn't bother.

 

Perhaps this boat owner is not so inclined but if so what else is not done.

[pquinn]

there is also the possibility that the oil was spilled when filters or oil was being changed by someone sloppy that didnt bother to clean it up.

[bizzard]

I and some folk when changing oil prefer to drain it into the drip tray from the sump or crankcase plug rather than via a sump pump and then pump it out of the tray which always leaves a little behind, some folk leave that bit in there and some folk mop it up. Has the engine an oil changing hand sump pump or not ?

[Neil2]

On my rant about boat advertising in the general forum I mentioned the rarity of a photograph of the engine bay. Whenever there is a shot of the engine, however, it is almost always dry underneath.

 

That doesn't mean most engines are oil tight, far from it, but it does suggest that only the owners of leak free engines are willing to show pictures of them. Why might that be then?

 

BTW - the OP doesn't say anything about the age of the engine, or the boat, so we don't know if age is a mitigating factor.

[IanM]

My 42 year old car leaks oil.

 

My 3 month old car doesn't.

 

Older engines generally leak oil and newer ones don't. As MtB said, as long as you can top it up faster than it runs out the bottom then you're fine

 

If it's something to be concerned about then I'm sure the surveyor will pick up on it.

[matty40s]

If I had no oil under my engine I would be worried.

Either I was on the wrong boat or someones nicked my engine.

[PaulG]

It's almost completely impossible to change the oil filter on my boat without spilling some oil onto the drip tray.

I take all precautions that I can, including puttting a plastic bag around the filter to catch as much oil as possible, but some of it always ends up in the drip tray.

Having said that, you say that the owners don't know where the oil has come from.

I'd try to find out who services their engine and ask them.

[Troyboy]

Throw some Tescos or similar cheapo cat litter under the engine that will soon dry up the oil you can then get a better idea of where the oil is dripping from . As others have already stated it could have built up over a period of time from spilt top ups / filter changes etc . At least the oil will stop the steel rusting through .

[nebulae]

Depends how water tight the engine room is. A cruiser stern or a leaking stern gland can soon alow a bit of water in the bilge.Only needs a tiny bit of oil mixed in to make a mess. If my Land Rover does not leave a patch of oil where it has been parked,I panic .It must be empty.

[MtB]

Depends how water tight the engine room is. A cruiser stern or a leaking stern gland can soon alow a bit of water in the bilge.Only needs a tiny bit of oil mixed in to make a mess. If my Land Rover does not leave a patch of oil where it has been parked,I panic .It must be empty.

 

Indeed. And as oil floats on water, what looks like an inch of oil under the engine can easily turn out to be an inch of water with 1/16th of an inch of oil floating on top. Give it a stir and see!

 

This of course morphs the question into 'where did all the water come from?'...

 

MtB

[Kiwidad]

If I had no oil under my engine I would be worried.Either I was on the wrong boat or someones nicked my engine.

If you didn't have oil under your engine, you would need a LOT more ballast!

[Neil2]

Apart from the fact that we still don't know what sort of engine this is, or, more to the point, how old it is, there's a world of difference between accepting some imperfections or idiosyncrasies on your own boat, and overlooking them on a prospective purchase, especially when, as the OP admits, she knows very little about boats.

 

Let's assume this is a leaky engine - unless the boat was really old, or really cheap, would any of you seriously consider buying it without wanting to investigate further?

[IanM]

Let's assume this is a leaky engine - unless the boat was really old, or really cheap, would any of you seriously consider buying it without wanting to investigate further?

 

The OP has said they're getting a survey next week so I suggest they wait and see what that says.

[Hattie]

Thanks folks. The engine was replaced a few years ago, is a Lister engine (sorry no idea what size etc etc - this is more my partner's topic) from the 1970s I believe.

 

The rest of the boat looks brilliant, there are obviously a few bits and bobs we want to sort out but nothing major. As one of you mentioned, it's a pretty reasonable price so we didn't expect it to be perfect - but obviously needing to replace an engine isn't something we are keen to do. Was planning on asking the surveyor all about it, but just wanted to canvas opinion as my knowledge about boat engines is non-existant. Cheers again for the feedback, H

[PaulG]

Thanks folks. The engine was replaced a few years ago, is a Lister engine

That accounts for the oil, then

[Grace and Favour]

If I had no oil under my engine I would be worried.

Either I was on the wrong boat or someones nicked my engine.

That's why they knocked on your roof at 02:00 hrs - they were looking for an engine