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Rising engine oil level, low revs under load

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10 years 11 months ago #4322 by timoneerstar
Rising engine oil level, low revs under load was created by timoneerstar
My engine is a yanmar 3JH2E and I'm having a few difficulties with it this year. At present when I start it up And leave it in neutral I can achieve revs of 3,500 to 4,000 - pretty much as I have always been able to do. When I engage the engine I can't get above 1500 revs.

I checked the oil level and it was very high, so drained it down, replaced with new oil and gave the engine a run out for 45 mins or so. The same symptoms were seen with no improvement on the revs. The engine bilge is also full of oil.

The exhaust blows white smoke and leaves a greyish film in the water.

Earlier in the season i had a problem with my mixing elbow, the engine did overheat but the mixing elbow has now been replaced, albeit with the cube style rather than the original bend style.

I suspect any fix will be beyond my capability but would like to keep the diagnostic costs down if possible.

Here's hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance,
Chris.

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10 years 11 months ago #4326 by hayden
Replied by hayden on topic Rising engine oil level, low revs under load
Chris:

So sorry to hear about your Yanmar 3JH2e problems. I know that engine and I have taken ours totally apart and installed a new rebuilt one as well. Here is my tear down last summer when my engine spun / burned up, a $2.00 bearing on the crankshaft. It turned out cheaper to install a re-manufactured engine from Alfred at www.SchoonerBayMarina.com. My new engine cost $5,500. It took me two days to install it.

Here is my photo essay:
ipyoa.com/photos/album?albumid=472

As for your engine, to me it sounds like you may have a head gasket leak which could cause lost compression and horsepower. Not sure. As for oil increasing, this is really not good. This would mean you have a coolant leak which is the only fluid that could be increasing the oil level. Coolant or Sea Water which would mean the heat ex changer could be leaning or the gasket to it is failing as well.

Here is what I would do, knowing what I know.

1. Hire a mechanic to do a compression test. This is easy, they loosen the injector hold downs, try to start the engine for one second which will pop the injectors loose. DO NOT REMOVE THE HOLD DOWNS or this move will fire the injectors out like a rocket. Now that they are loose, remove the hold downs and pull out the injectors. Screw in a compression gauge, start engine read pressure. If any cylinder is off and has low pressure, the engine needs rebuilt.
START HERE, I wish I had done this first, it would have saved me hours and money.

2. Get an oil sample analysis done to find out whats up.
Get a kit here, take a sample, send it in.
www.blackstone-labs.com/what-is-oil-analysis.php

3. Plan your fix now with the above info.

If your engine is in need of rebuild, I would buy the exact same engine from Alfred at Schooner Bay Marina. Then replace it. It is far better than buying a new one which will need new mounts, and a totally different install of hoses, exhaust, cables, etc.
www.schoonerbaymarinallc.com/

How many hours do you have on this engine?
Mine had 4,750 and I thought she was in mint condition. Evidently, one oil port got clogged on mine and stopped oil delivery to the one crankshaft bearing. A $2 part! Frustrating.

Hayden
Hayden Cochran
IP35-165 Island Spirit
IslandSpirit35.blogspot.com
Rock Hall, MD

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10 years 11 months ago #4346 by Delicia
Replied by Delicia on topic Rising engine oil level, low revs under load
I believe you have a much simpler problem. If you are creating oil, rising oil level - i.e. making oil, it is likely a broken fuel pump. The fuel pump, not the injector pump, has a diaphragm that pumps the fuel to the injector pump. When the lever on the pump is actuated by a lobe on the cam shaft it pumps a little fuel to the injector pump.. If the diaphram gets a hole in it, common failure mode, then the diesel fuel leaks into the crank case, rather than going to the injector pump and fills the crankcase with diesel fuel. It will also starve the injector pump.

STOP Running the motor - the oil is too thin. Replace the pump, a very easy DIY job. The pump is likely to be less than $100. I am willing to bet this is the problem.

Let us know
Good luck

George
S/V Delicia

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10 years 11 months ago #4358 by Emergpa1
Replied by Emergpa1 on topic Rising engine oil level, low revs under load

timoneerstar wrote: My engine is a yanmar 3JH2E and I'm having a few difficulties with it this year. At present when I start it up And leave it in neutral I can achieve revs of 3,500 to 4,000 - pretty much as I have always been able to do. When I engage the engine I can't get above 1500 revs.

I checked the oil level and it was very high, so drained it down, replaced with new oil and gave the engine a run out for 45 mins or so. The same symptoms were seen with no improvement on the revs. The engine bilge is also full of oil.

The exhaust blows white smoke and leaves a greyish film in the water.

Earlier in the season i had a problem with my mixing elbow, the engine did overheat but the mixing elbow has now been replaced, albeit with the cube style rather than the original bend style.

I suspect any fix will be beyond my capability but would like to keep the diagnostic costs down if possible.

Here's hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance,
Chris.


Agree with George, you are adding fuel to your oil, also probably dripping/oozing fuel into the engine bilge. Then with a separate small oil leak somewhere they mix in the engine bilge and it looks like a lot of oil. If you look at some of the bilge fluid on a paper towel you will be able to tell if it is a mix of oil and diesel fuel. I had exactly that problem last year.
But even when I repaired my pump I still had low rpm's under load, and with a clean exhaust. We ended up taking some pitch off the prop and it improved. It seems I have added lots of weight to my boat since it was designed and the boat was over propped as a result. Imagine that!
The film you see is likely carbon, the result of a chocking engine, again, in light of a new exhaust elbow, probably the prop if she is starting easy and running smooth. Which reminds me the prop has to be clean, clean, clean. Check also for rope around the prop shaft.
I think if you had a compression problem you would be having starting problems also, black smoke and running rough.
If your gonna have your fuel pump replaced (if) and not do it yourself, what about the other pumps? And where is that little bit of oil leak coming from?

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10 years 11 months ago #4360 by timoneerstar
Replied by timoneerstar on topic Rising engine oil level, low revs under load
Thanks to you all for your responses. In the end I have had the engine taken out so a mechanic can have a good look at the problem. They too thought the fuel pump was a good place to start pre engine removal but all was well there.

Having looked inside there are a number of problems:
- Water has found its way into the engine following the failure of the mixing elbow
- this has affected the performance of one of the cylinders
- diesel is mixing with the oil, though from a failed gasket

I'll try and give a full write up with photos once we get to the bottom of everything in case it helps others.

Thanks,

Chris.

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10 years 11 months ago #4361 by Emergpa1
Replied by Emergpa1 on topic Rising engine oil level, low revs under load

timoneerstar wrote: Thanks to you all for your responses. In the end I have had the engine taken out so a mechanic can have a good look at the problem. They too thought the fuel pump was a good place to start pre engine removal but all was well there.

Having looked inside there are a number of problems:
- Water has found its way into the engine following the failure of the mixing elbow
- this has affected the performance of one of the cylinders
- diesel is mixing with the oil, though from a failed gasket

I'll try and give a full write up with photos once we get to the bottom of everything in case it helps others.

Thanks,

Chris.

Sorry to hear of the problems but very glad you posted it. We will all be able to learn a thing or two.

Were there any starting or running issues other than the low revs under load?

I'm very interested in hearing a bout the mixing elbow failure. I thought it had been replaced very recently.

Keep us informed please! Thanks.

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10 years 9 months ago #4477 by Emergpa1
Replied by Emergpa1 on topic Rising engine oil level, low revs under load

timoneerstar wrote: Thanks to you all for your responses. In the end I have had the engine taken out so a mechanic can have a good look at the problem. They too thought the fuel pump was a good place to start pre engine removal but all was well there.

Having looked inside there are a number of problems:
- Water has found its way into the engine following the failure of the mixing elbow
- this has affected the performance of one of the cylinders
- diesel is mixing with the oil, though from a failed gasket

I'll try and give a full write up with photos once we get to the bottom of everything in case it helps others.

Thanks,

Chris.

Still waiting on the update!

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