bukh oil leak

[roly]

We have a Bukh 20 on our Westerly Fulmar circa 1982. We have had intermittant oil leaks before which seem to follow motor sailing when heeling.
This weekend however we found it needed 1.75l to bring the oil up to level and have pumped about half a gallon out of the bilge. There has been no heeling with the engine running. The oil filter is not to blame, nor is the front of the crank as the flywheel is clean. Probable causes please. The installation on the fulmar makes horrendous access to see what is going on and working on the engine let, alone removing it is no joke.

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[charles_reed]

That amount of oil in the bilges has got to be an oil-seal leakage, even if you have a clean flywheel.

Before doing anything drastic, just make sure the breather is clear/clean and connected.

If that doesn't cure it, I'm afraid it's about £2K to strip and rebuild (if you can find anyone competent to do it).

PS You haven't by any chance used a fully synthetic oil in it?

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[neil_s]

My Bukh dv20 has developed an oil leak from the aft end of the cylinder head gasket this year. It just looks like an oil smear on the engine, but a surprising amount collects in the oil tray after a couple of hours motoring. It seems to sneak down the cylinder head, across the top of the gear housing and then down the side of the engine in a narrow slug-trail. My Seal 28 has access to the back side of the engine through a cockpit hatch, so its obvious for me to see, but if you can't see behind the engine in your boat, it would be impossible to see.

I am going to try torqueing up the cylinder head bolts to see if that will stop it. I will let you know!

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[RJD]

Before doing anything drastic do check the oil filter... I thought I had an oil leak on my Konsort but found that after a few hours running the oil filter needed retightening. It only happens when a new filter is fitted, I hand tighten it and then find it needs another tweak after a few hours running. Maybe that the oil seal gives a little, - worth a try.
TonyP

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