Loss all Motor Oil!

[alboater78]

I am fairly inexperienced when it comes to engine issues so I would like a little advice for when I talk to the mechanic.

So here is the story. The other week I took my boat in, 04 4.3L mercruiser alpha 1 drive, to repair a stern drive oil leak. The mechanic had to replace the yoke and the yoke seal. I picked the boat up on Monday and went to use it this weekend. I was heading down the lake at about 30 mph when I noticed the engine was making what might be described as a lot of lifter noise (rattling). I slowed down and opened up the engine compartment. All the motor oil was in the bilge area and there was no oil on the dipstick. I shut the engine off and flagged down a passerby who had a quart of oil. I put the quart of oil in, started it up and it sounded normal. Drove about 5 minutes back to the boat ramp and put it on the trailer.

I have a couple of questions?

1) Could this issue be related to the recent repair of the yoke? The engine only has 10 hours on it.

2) What is the chance that I did not damage the engine?

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[Don S]

Re: Loss all Motor Oil!

1) Could this issue be related to the recent repair of the yoke? The engine only has 10 hours on it.

Nope. Drive is on the outside of the boat, engine on the inside. Problem not related.

2) What is the chance that I did not damage the engine?

At this point, I would say 50/50 same as flipping a coin.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Loss all Motor Oil!

How many quarts of oil did it take to put it back to the full mark on the stick?

I would clean everything up and run it on the muffs to see where the leak is..

 

[P 0 P E Y E]

Re: Loss all Motor Oil!

It is a great idea to do a preflight inspection before leaving the dock.

You said your bilge is full of engine oil this is not good.

When was the engine oil last changed? I would inspect the oil filter to see if it is leaking or damaged. Some rare occasions, the person changing the oil leaves the old gasket or very rare the oil filter is defective.

The low oil pressure alarm and light should have alerted you...

You should test the light and buzzer.

 

[alboater78]

Re: Loss all Motor Oil!

Thanks for the quick response.

I am pretty sure I caught it before the alarm went off. The oil pressure was down to about 20 psi when I shut it down. After I added the quart of oil the pressure came back up to 80 psi while I drove it back to the ramp.

The idea with the muffs is a good one.