low oil warning

J

jchagnard

Cadet
Joined
Sep 4, 2007
Messages
9
I have a 1995 Mercury 135XL. The oil warning sounded over the weekend (beep-beep-beep,...). Not overheating; pee-hole good, water pressure gauge good. Had the boat on plane when horn sounded and the boat slowed to idle on its own. Shut the engine down for a few minutes. Started back up all ok for a min. then the warning starts again. Tank under cowl is full. Check the seals on main oil tank good. Could hear the pressure releasing when they were unscrewed. Pulled the oil line off the pump to check; pumping oil w/ a slow drip as expected at idle. Cannot run the boat past idle; if so sound like its running on onlly 3 cyl then kills. Had to motor back about a mile to dock @ idle. My question then is this a bad oil control unit or a sensor problem? A few years back I replaced the sensor that screws onto the oil pump , but it didn't duplicate these conditions when it happened (i.e. the boat would still plane). Does anyone have a suggestion? Thanks Jeff :confused:
 
L

Laddies

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Joined
Sep 10, 2004
Messages
12,218
Re: low oil warning

As long as you are sure the pump is working unplug the sensor on the oil tank ans see if that stops the horn, the magnet in the tangs come unglued once in awhile and make the horn go off
 
J

jchagnard

Cadet
Joined
Sep 4, 2007
Messages
9
Re: low oil warning

FYI this is a complete diagnosis of the problem. Maybe it will be of help to others. Tried all that I could as a shady tree mechanic, then turned it over to the pros.

1. Bad power pack. It wasn't showing up until the motor was at normal operating temperature. That's when 3 of the cylinders lost fire.

2. Oil inj. worm gear was starting to go out. When I examined the oil pump shaft I did not find any plastic shavings. Which led me not to suspect it. The shop mechanic told me the worm gear was slipping at times. He diagnosed this by inserting the pump shaft into the block, but do not bolt on the oil pump. Let the engine idle and watch the key on the end of the shaft turn slowly. By applying slight pressure to the exposed end of the shaft with the end of a pen the worm gear would slip on the pump shaft. Which meant it was only a matter of time before it stripped completely.

3. Carbs needed sync, cleaning, and adj the floats.


Engine runs like a champ now. I surely will miss my oil injection.
Cheers:D
 
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