Volvo Penta d1-30 oil leak serious?

[picardy]

Hi my 2006 D1 had a dribble of oil i(tea spoon ish) n the moulding below the engine. A careful inspection would suggest its dripping from the round circular large plate immediately behind the engine / forward of sail drive.

Is that likely? Engine oil was lower than usual but that may be a co-incidence. I'm assuming it's oil from the sail drive unit as its beige in colour not black.

I am practical but not an engineer so am likely to need some help. My question is what might it be and how serious / big a job is it and if it's dribbling how urgent is it. I do about 40 engine hours a year

Many thanks

 

[RichardS]

You wouldn't notice such a small amount of oil loss on the dipstick so I'm sure that's a coincidence.

If it's saildrive oil it will probably smell different to engine oil. Even if the engine and saildrive had the same oil in to start with you would smell the difference once the engine has been run for a dozen hours. Compare the smell/colour with a sample from the saildrive and engine dipsticks and you should soon be able to tell.

Such a small amount is probably nothing to worry about and could be just spillage from the last time the oil was topped up. However, do check your saildrive oil to check that it is clear and yellow and that there is no water in it. The first sign I had that my saildrive seals had gone was when I spotted some oil around the diaphram which looked as if it might have come out of the filler/dipstick cap. I removed the cap to check the level and could see immediately that the oil was over-full and contaminated.

Richard

 

[VicS]

You wouldn't notice such a small amount of oil loss on the dipstick so I'm sure that's a coincidence.

If it's saildrive oil it will probably smell different to engine oil. Even if the engine and saildrive had the same oil in to start with you would smell the difference once the engine has been run for a dozen hours. Compare the smell/colour with a sample from the saildrive and engine dipsticks and you should soon be able to tell.

Such a small amount is probably nothing to worry about and could be just spillage from the last time the oil was topped up. However, do check your saildrive oil to check that it is clear and yellow and that there is no water in it. The first sign I had that my saildrive seals had gone was when I spotted some oil around the diaphram which looked as if it might have come out of the filler/dipstick cap. I removed the cap to check the level and could see immediately that the oil was over-full and contaminated.

Richard

If the saildrive used an EP gear oil you would almost certainly smell the difference between it and engine oil but ITYWF that it uses the same oil type as the engine . It should as you suggest. be clear from the appearance if its oil from the engine or oil from the sail drive.

The description "beige" rang an alarm bell for me. Straw coloured or amber coloured are the standard colours I have used in the ( distant) past when reporting oil examination/ test results.
Whatever the colour if the oil is not clear and bright ( used diesel engine oil excepted of course) in appearance it indicates water contamination. Beige for some reason implied to me that the oil is not clear and bright!