How bad is too bad for engine oil leaking?

[Boater On Thames]

I did a second view for an old Princess 480 as I am on a weekend vacation in the town where the boat is today. This time the broker kindly let me try the engines (A pair of Volvo Penta TAMD72P-A-EDC engines). So, I started the engine and let it run for around 40 minutes. Found a few problems. One of them is the engine leaked around a half litre of engine oil to the bilge during the 40 minutes of idle running. Because the broker (or owner) cleaned the bilge before my second viewing, so I can easily find out how much oil is leaking into the bilge. On the first viewing which was around a month ago, there were a few inches in depth (Dozens of litres) of black oil in the bilge. Also, the survey report from 2 years ago when the current owner bought the boat also mentioned there was a sufficient amount of oil in the bilge that requires further investigation.

My question is whether a half litre leaking for 40 minutes of engine idle running is acceptable or not?

Thank you.

 

[dankilb]

My question is whether a half liter leaking for 40 minutes of engine idle running is acceptable or not?

No way, IMHO.

 

[Greg2]

No way, IMHO.

+1
Need to know where that is coming from - it might be something as benign as a loose oil filter that just needs tightening but it could be something that will require a lot more effort and £££ to resolve. No question you need to know before going any further.
.

 

[Boater On Thames]

The oil filter is dry. But the whole lower part of the engine body is wet with oil. So hard to tell where the leaking is from.

 

[dankilb]

Just keep feeding it oil - spray everywhere with as much degreaser or brake cleaner you can muster - and sooner or later the source will reveal itself.

 

[Bandit]

Just looking at a photo.

The boat should be in a condition to take away and use, it is clearly not.

You will probably need to lift that engine to re-bed a sump or to replace a sump, the best would be to remove the engine in question to a workshop, while you are about it take both out as they are the same age , price to do any obvious repairs and then undertake a mini refit on the engines. Service injectors, fuel pump, remove and clean coolers, replace all engine hoses etc.

If you get a good engineer fully experienced on these engines to examine the engines carefully for any major faults first .

Make an offer subject to a survey that fully reflects the work above and the fact that you wont be able to use it till next year and see how realistic the vendor is. If he accepts undertake the survey and chip the price for any defects, but it has to be priced accordingly. Don't underestimate the cost and hassle.

You will need to draw and inspect the shafts and replace cutless bearings and probably the sternseals, inspect the fuel tanks and clean and filter any diesel, replace the fuel lines in new hose, clean fuel filters etc and any other cleaning and upgrade work you want while the engines are out.

 

[Boater On Thames]

Already headache by only looking at the list above! Probably not go ahead buying it.

Also, the two TAMD72P-A-EDC engines are very smoky throughout the whole 40 minutes of testing.

 

[Hunterlees]

So what else has the current owner not bothered to fix in his ownership?
Run, dont walk away.

 

[ChromeDome]

Cost of labor and parts (if you can get them at all), new defects found when starting to work on it, the unknown about the other engine and then some.
Add to this the boat itself, tanks, plumbing, instrumentation, electronics, accessories.

I see several reasons not to buy - and not one single reason to do.

 

[Boater On Thames]

Yes. Agreed. The engine must remove to do any repair. That can open a can of worms for a 27-year-old boat. This may be the reason why the current owner and the previous owners all don't want to risk doing it.

 

[simonfraser]

Def a project boat, do you have the skills yourself to undertake this ?

 

[ChromeDome]

Many people do not realize what it takes to fix even minor issues. Even if capable themselves it commonly takes more time and more money than hoped for so unless specifically looking for a project, for reasons not weighing in on a budget, I'd recommend to make the dream come true with a "just add water" solution.

 

[Boater On Thames]

@ChromeDome Yes. Agreed. Whenever I go to repair my current boat, it always takes twice or triple times effort more than my plan to make it done.

@simonfraser For this Princess 480, the tricky problem is that the engine must remove even if you only want to clean the heat exchanger for the starboard engine or inspect the fuel pump for the port engine. Because the fuel tanks are just on the outside next to the engine. The gap between the fuel tank to the engine is only a couple of inches away. It's not accessible at all even though all the floors in the saloon were removed. So I can't do it myself.

 

[LittleSister]

For this Princess 480, the tricky problem is that the engine must remove even if you only want to clean the heat exchanger for the starboard engine or inspect the fuel pump for the port engine.

 

[volvopaul]

72 A has never been one of my favourite motors , too much boost and fuel for the size and capabilities of its heat exchangers . It was an ok engine as a71B at 380 hp.

 

[Boater On Thames]

@volvopaul How much roughly will likely cost to fix this kind of oil leaking? Assume the worst-case scenario. Thanks.

By the way, the engine temperature only reached 65 C after those 40 minutes of running (checked by a Bosch infrared thermometer). So I think maybe the thermostat also needs replacing?

 

[ChromeDome]

...

 

[ChromeDome]

For this Princess 480, the tricky problem is that the engine must remove even if you only want to clean the heat exchanger for the starboard engine or inspect the fuel pump for the port engine. Because the fuel tanks are just on the outside next to the engine. The gap between the fuel tank to the engine is only a couple of inches away. It's not accessible at all even though all the floors in the saloon were removed. So I can't do it myself.

That's just "error by design". He who found this to be a good idea has to live with the consequences and the resulting miseries.

 

[Bigplumbs]

As other have said that is one hell of a leak

 

[markc]

@volvopaul How much roughly will likely cost to fix this kind of oil leaking? Assume the worst-case scenario. Thanks.

By the way, the engine temperature only reached 65 C after those 40 minutes of running (checked by a Bosch infrared thermometer). So I think maybe the thermostat also needs replacing?

You be nuts to take this any further!!! (I think you need to ask how much for 2 new engines? If they lose that much oil, it has probably run starved of oil at some point)