NEW Hammerhead Engine Oil Specs

[stewart]

Ken,

Did they mention any insence or candles arranged in the area, or possibly some hand holding or chanting going on while this procedure is performed...

I'm sure it'll work out though..

no but I was accused of abusing my Hammerhead like some guy named "Stewart".....I don't know what the service manager meant by that

Hey now, my Hammerhead 383 ran flawless. So does my friend Rickmal's. His burnt a few extra qts during the first 50+ hours though. But that was becasue he did the "by the book" break in. And it took that long for his rings to seat.

I'm not buying the rings didn't seat and its burning oil. That sounds like BS to me. We all have had a few alarms. Mine only did it occasionally like we've mentioned before, and after it got the 40wt oil I can't remember it ever doing it. As far as oil consumption, 1/2 qt in like 20 hours and about ~1/2 qt in in another 50 hours. Similar to my 8.1L

My guess is the oil pump loses temporary suction........

[88Skier]

Wonder why Mercruiser doesn't seem to have these issues with their 6.2?

[kb3]

Update:

Dealer performed the "oil treatment", changed the oil with new 50 weight, installed a mechanical oil gauge and took the boat out on the water for a test run. Within 15 minutes of hitting the water they were able to duplicate the zero oil pressure problem. Both the mechanical gauge and the electronic one read the same.

Talking with Malibu, Indmar and GM currently about a potential fix.

I am beginning to worry about the long term affects on the engine from the time it has spent with no oil pressure.

Hopefully I will have an update next week.

Ken

[RTS]

I hate to say it, but....

HH owners will be running rear end fluid in the engine before this is over...I've said it before, Indmar needs to address the problem with the HH's low oil pressure (beyond increasing the viscosity of the oil), and hopefully they'll do it before you guys/gals are out of warranty!

[WakeGirl]

I don't think that's Ken's problem.

[Gordo]

I would check the actual compression in each cylinder. Maybe a broken ring? That makes more sense to me than anything else.

[ACE]

Update:

Dealer performed the "oil treatment", changed the oil with new 50 weight, installed a mechanical oil gauge and took the boat out on the water for a test run. Within 15 minutes of hitting the water they were able to duplicate the zero oil pressure problem. Both the mechanical gauge and the electronic one read the same.

Talking with Malibu, Indmar and GM currently about a potential fix.

I am beginning to worry about the long term affects on the engine from the time it has spent with no oil pressure.

Hopefully I will have an update next week.

Ken

Any Update yet as I am very interested in the out come. I was just told to change the oil weight.

Mason

[kb3]

Update:

I was able to finally bring the boat home on Saturday. The "fix" for now is to run it with one extra quart of oil. The dealer added the quart and took the boat to the lake again. He was unable to get the low oil pressure alarm to activate. Mine is one of two boats that they were working on. The extra quart seemed to help both boats.

I am still not sure that this is a good permanent fix. Unfortunately with the weather turning cold here and my next few weekends booked up, I will not be able to get the boat out and really test it until spring. Indmar stands by their comment that there was no damage done due to the low/no oil pressure. They have given me written confirmation that if the engine has an oil related failure, they will make it good.

The other boat is also a 247 with the Hammerhead. They had a VLX with a Hammerhead that was experiencing similar problems, but I am not sure what the outcome on that boat was.

For now I am in a "wait and see" situation and am anxious for next spring to get here to see what happens.

Ken

[WakeGirl]

Update:

I was able to finally bring the boat home on Saturday. The "fix" for now is to run it with one extra quart of oil. The dealer added the quart and took the boat to the lake again. He was unable to get the low oil pressure alarm to activate. Mine is one of two boats that they were working on. The extra quart seemed to help both boats.

I am still not sure that this is a good permanent fix. Unfortunately with the weather turning cold here and my next few weekends booked up, I will not be able to get the boat out and really test it until spring. Indmar stands by their comment that there was no damage done due to the low/no oil pressure. They have given me written confirmation that if the engine has an oil related failure, they will make it good.

The other boat is also a 247 with the Hammerhead. They had a VLX with a Hammerhead that was experiencing similar problems, but I am not sure what the outcome on that boat was.

For now I am in a "wait and see" situation and am anxious for next spring to get here to see what happens.

Ken

Wow.

[ACE]

Update:

I was able to finally bring the boat home on Saturday. The "fix" for now is to run it with one extra quart of oil. The dealer added the quart and took the boat to the lake again. He was unable to get the low oil pressure alarm to activate. Mine is one of two boats that they were working on. The extra quart seemed to help both boats.

I am still not sure that this is a good permanent fix. Unfortunately with the weather turning cold here and my next few weekends booked up, I will not be able to get the boat out and really test it until spring. Indmar stands by their comment that there was no damage done due to the low/no oil pressure. They have given me written confirmation that if the engine has an oil related failure, they will make it good.

The other boat is also a 247 with the Hammerhead. They had a VLX with a Hammerhead that was experiencing similar problems, but I am not sure what the outcome on that boat was.

For now I am in a "wait and see" situation and am anxious for next spring to get here to see what happens.

Ken

I wouldn't mind getting something like that in writing. I need to talk to my dealer again.

Edited October 17, 2006 by ACE

[kb3]

Update:

I was able to finally bring the boat home on Saturday. The "fix" for now is to run it with one extra quart of oil. The dealer added the quart and took the boat to the lake again. He was unable to get the low oil pressure alarm to activate. Mine is one of two boats that they were working on. The extra quart seemed to help both boats.

I am still not sure that this is a good permanent fix. Unfortunately with the weather turning cold here and my next few weekends booked up, I will not be able to get the boat out and really test it until spring. Indmar stands by their comment that there was no damage done due to the low/no oil pressure. They have given me written confirmation that if the engine has an oil related failure, they will make it good.

The other boat is also a 247 with the Hammerhead. They had a VLX with a Hammerhead that was experiencing similar problems, but I am not sure what the outcome on that boat was.

For now I am in a "wait and see" situation and am anxious for next spring to get here to see what happens.

Ken

I wouldn't mind getting something like that in writing. I need to talk to my dealer again.

we have had several serious discussions when it comes to what damage has been done to the motor. Of course Indmar says there was no damage done at all. I stated that if they think there was no damage done, then they should be able to put it in writing. I am not 100% confident that they will stand behind it for more than a couple years (yes the warranty period) so I am going to run the hell out of it next spring to make sure it is going to last. I also wont know for some time if they were able to solve the oil burning issue.

We will see....and at least I have something in writing

[WakeGirl]

How many hours do you currently have on the motor?

[kb3]

How many hours do you currently have on the motor?

It had about 55 before I took it in a few weeks ago. I have not had a chance to check since I brought it home Saturday...probably only and hour or two more.

They mentioned that I should expect it to burn oil until I get over the 100 hour mark....seems like a long time for break-in/ring seat to me.

[stewart]

How many hours do you currently have on the motor?

It had about 55 before I took it in a few weeks ago. I have not had a chance to check since I brought it home Saturday...probably only and hour or two more.

They mentioned that I should expect it to burn oil until I get over the 100 hour mark....seems like a long time for break-in/ring seat to me.

Rickmals took about 70 hours. He did the Indmar 10 hr break in.

Mine burnt about a qt after the 1st oil change. Than nothing.

I always put a little extra oil in the engine about 1/2 to 1 qt. Never got an alarm after that.

My 8.1L burnt about 1 qt after the 1st oil change. Now with 107 hrs on it I did an oil change last weekend. 8 qts I'll keep tabs and see it she burns any extra.

[RTS]

Could the low oil pressure at times be a product of an oil pickup that needs to be moved a little? I'd imagine the engine in a boat sees far more extreme angles (both lateral and longitudinal) than a vehicle engine does. Just a thought.

[stewart]

Could the low oil pressure at times be a product of an oil pickup that needs to be moved a little? I'd imagine the engine in a boat sees far more extreme angles (both lateral and longitudinal) than a vehicle engine does. Just a thought.

I believe that's what they are thinking......