Perkins Perama Oil Leak

[tonydyer]

The Perkins Perama engine of my Moody 35 (1992) has just started dumping quite significant quantities of oil into the bilge (about half litre per hour running – nothing when stopped). The accessibility of the sump gasket is dreadful - because of longitudinal hull strength members either side of the engine, I believe that it would be impossible to drop the sump without raising the engine first. I have however managed to get my fingers around 95% of the sump gasket and can find no obvious evidence of leakage. There is definitely nothing coming from the fwd shaft seal, but the aft seal just cannot be observed.

Has anyone experienced this problem? (I note L. Watkins’s message of 10th June and 14th August, but it appears that it refers to a different engine). Is there anywhere else that the oil could be dumping from? I tend to discount the sump corrosion problem as there appears to be no loss of oil when the engine is stopped. Has it got to be the aft shaft seal, and is there a way of checking this without raising the engine?

Tony Dyer (tonydyer@lineone.co.uk)

 

[dickh]

I also have a Perkins Perama but don't have this problem at the moment. Try speaking to Volspec at Tollesbury who are usually helpful, they are also Volvo Penta agents and as the basic engine is the same as the VP 2020/2030 series they should be able to help.
Keep us informed of the result. Good luck and hope its not too expensive!

dickh
I'd rather be sailing...

 

[vyv_cox]

Sounds like the rear seal, but check that the oil filter itself, plus its gasket seating, and the rocker cover gasket, are OK. I know of a couple of cases in which oil filters have leaked. You need to observe carefully to identify the leak source, try using mirrors and other aids to see where it is coming from.

 

[tonydyer]

I have checked all the obvious places such as the oil filter seal, pressure switch tapping, rocker cover, etc., but there is nothing obvious. The engine is clean.

I therefore tend to agree that it sounds like the rear shaft seal. However, the flywheel bell housing is attached to the rear of the engine, so leakage would be into that bell housing. I can just about feel the underside of the bell housing where I would have thought there would be a drain hole, but cannot find one? The gearbox of course attaches to the back of the bell housing.

Getting mirrors under the engine (whilst it is running) is easier said than done, but has to be the way forward. I'll keep searching.

Thanks for your help.

Tony

 

[tonydyer]

Thanks for your reply. Do you have the contact details for Volspec please?

I guess that this could definitely be an expensive exercise - the problem has got to be under the engine and in the Moody 35 it is impossible to even drop the sump because of poor accessibility (Is your engine in the same type of boat?). The engine will therefore have to be raised - bad news.

Tony

 

[oldharry]

Finding oil leaks - even hefty ones like yours can be extraordinarily difficult. As Vyv suggests, crawling round with mirrors and lights to see if your can see where it is may show it up, but oil has a nasty habit of running along the engine before it drips off, so that the source may not be obvious.

Half a litre an hour is a big leak, and is more than I would normally expect from a worn crank seal. The rate of loss suggests a failure on the high pressure side of the oil circulation - the commonest being the oil filter seal, followed by external oil pipes - particularly the flexible ones leading to the oil cooler.

Wipe these components down thoroughly with a cloth to remove surplus oil - this may in itself give a pointer to the leak - then running up the engine will soon show up any leaks as fresh oil appears.

Otherwise clean off the engine with a proprietary engine cleaner (not Gunk - you will never get rid of the smell!) then when it is clean, run it up while watching for the re-appearance of the oil - you should quickly see where it is coming from!

One quite common oil leak occurs when bilge water is allowed to reach the bottom of the sump, electrolytic corrosion can burn a hole in the sump remarkably quickly! The only recourse then is a new sump pan!

If the engine is tilted the chances are the oil will run back along the engine and drip from the bell housing /adapter plate. If it drips there, but is definitely NOT running in from elsewhere, then the culprit is the rear crank oil seal.

 

[dickh]

Tony - www.volspec.co.uk Tel 01621 869756

dickh
I'd rather be sailing...

 

[tonydyer]

Thanks for all the help to date. Anything further please?

Tony