Checking oil level 115hp 4-stroker

[Navy Jr.]

Regards 2008 Merc 115hp 4-stroke. Last year it used less than 1/2 quart of oil. Had it winterized by dealer immediately before putting it in storage, which included oil and filter change.

Got boat out of storage last week. Checked oil dipstick and it was only 1/3 up from lower hash mark. (Last year when I got it out of storage the oil level was "full"). Merc manual has warning about overfilling. Says as long as oil is in hash marks it's okay.

Ok, so figured dealer didn't put as much oil as the year before and took boat on first outing of the season. Ran it for an hour in various RPM ranges. Worked great! Checked oil upon return and it was a whisker under lower hash mark. Hmmm.

Purchased a quart bottle of Merc 25W-40 synthetic oil (per manual). Put in 8 oz to start with. That brought the level back up to 1/3 above lower hash.

My question is: am I doing something wrong when checking the oil? I have the motor tilted down in the vertical position like the manual says, but it also says something about first tilting it up to get air out of the sump before tilting it back down to check the oil level. It was tilted partly up during storage and transport to/from the lake. Thanks. -Ken

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: Checking oil level 115hp 4-stroker

Ok, I think I may have an answer to my own question.

My theory is the dealer only filled the oil to 1/3 above add and didn't prime the oil filter when winterizing. The filter probably sucked up 6+ oz as soon as I started the motor for the first time of the season. When I returned from first outing, the level was down to the add mark because of what is now in the filter.

I'm not going to worry about it for now. After adding the 8oz of oil the other day and checking it again today (motor has not been run since), the level now reads 1/2 in the hash area. I bet (ok, hope) it will be the same when I check it again after the next outing.

If only the weather would cooperate so I could get her out again. It's like April and May were reversed here in the Twin Cities. -Ken

 

[Irv964]

Re: Checking oil level 115hp 4-stroker

I was tilt my motor all the way up and leave it for a few minutes, then tilt it down level and let sit a few more before I check it.

If it is in the hash marks you have nothing to worry about but I personally feel more comfortable if it is at least half way up the hash marks.