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Fresh oil in bilge on 2016 23 lsv


bbattiste247

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The boat has 45 hours and was last serviced at 20 hours. The last time I took the boat out in late December, I noticed how dry and chalky the bilge was near the front drain plug. Today, when I checked the plug before going out, there was a trace of oil on the floor board near the plug and below the storage of the center rear seat. Once a little water flowed into the bilge, the water was pretty milky. The oil pressure registered 30 while Idling and went into the 70s at or near full throttle.

We were concerrned and didn't stay out long, but I hope this is not a problem of not winterizing. I keep my boat in a steel structured garage surrounded by other garages. This past month the temperature did drop to 25F for two nights, but warmed up to the 50's that day. I wouldn't think anything froze causing this.

Any ideas of what this could be and what was the cause? The oil was a dark yellow color.

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I suspect the oil you see was spilled during the 20 hour oil change. Others, no matter how committed to excellence, will never be as careful as the do it yourself owner when it comes to not spilling one drop when draining oil or changing a filter. Just wait until you see the mess they will leave when they change your trans and V drive fluid!

Long ago I had my oil changed my a non Malibu dealer. He was Indmar certified so I felt good about letting him service my Indmar engine. He told me they don't worry about oil spills because the oil will just drain from the hull drain plug while they have the oil drain line running through the hull. ( not true ) He went on to say that it is impossible to contain the trans fluid when they change the trans fluid and remove the plate to get at the filter. Not true, but it is what he said.

When I asked how he planned to clean up the mess he made in my boat's bilge, he suggested I put some Dawn dishwashing detergent in there, let it swish around a bit while using the boat, and then turn on the bilge pump. I told him aside from breaking laws, polluting the lake, and pumping oil down the side of my boat, I thought his plan was pretty awesome. Because I like this guy and want for us to remain friendly, I filed this one under 'choose your battles' and let it go. This was the one and only time I let someone else change fluids in my boat.

So bbattiste247, I suggest some water and Dawn in the bilge, disconnect the battery to disable the bilge pump, and drive around on the trailer while the detergent swishes around. Then select a location that will allow you to sleep at night, and pull the hull drain plugs and flush with fresh water.

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Then select a location that will allow you to sleep at night, and pull the hull drain plugs and flush with fresh water.

The location I have used for this type of activity has been my local "you wash it" car wash.

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Dont run the engine till you verify what is going on. If it's under warranty take it in. If not, make sure a good mechanic checks it out. Oil in the bilge shouldn't be milky, so that make me wonder if it's coming out milky from the engine.

Good luck,

Steve B.

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If oil mixed with water in the bilge it will look milky. You have to clean it anyway, so why not clean it and then see what's up? Or let your dealer clean it up since there is a 99% chance that the dealer's shop put that mess there in the first place.

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Dont run the engine till you verify what is going on. If it's under warranty take it in. If not, make sure a good mechanic checks it out. Oil in the bilge shouldn't be milky, so that make me wonder if it's coming out milky from the engine.

Good luck,

Steve B.

Pull the dipstick after running it up to temp and see what color the fluid is; anything other than the proper brown-to-yellow range, take a picture and take the boat back to dealer to have them figure out what went wrong.

Edited by mikeo
  • Like 2
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While mixing another drink it occurred to me that the obvious first step is to check the dip stick. Is it milky? Is it full.....or low.....or overfilled? Then I saw a wise post from mikeo. Cheers!

  • Like 2
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While mixing another drink it occurred to me that the obvious first step is to check the dip stick. Is it milky? Is it full.....or low.....or overfilled? Then I saw a wise post from mikeo. Cheers!

What are we drinking tonight?

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I suspect the oil you see was spilled during the 20 hour oil change. Others, no matter how committed to excellence, will never be as careful as the do it yourself owner when it comes to not spilling one drop when draining oil or changing a filter. Just wait until you see the mess they will leave when they change your trans and V drive fluid!

Long ago I had my oil changed my a non Malibu dealer. He was Indmar certified so I felt good about letting him service my Indmar engine. He told me they don't worry about oil spills because the oil will just drain from the hull drain plug while they have the oil drain line running through the hull. ( not true ) He went on to say that it is impossible to contain the trans fluid when they change the trans fluid and remove the plate to get at the filter. Not true, but it is what he said.

When I asked how he planned to clean up the mess he made in my boat's bilge, he suggested I put some Dawn dishwashing detergent in there, let it swish around a bit while using the boat, and then turn on the bilge pump. I told him aside from breaking laws, polluting the lake, and pumping oil down the side of my boat, I thought his plan was pretty awesome. Because I like this guy and want for us to remain friendly, I filed this one under 'choose your battles' and let it go. This was the one and only time I let someone else change fluids in my boat.

So bbattiste247, I suggest some water and Dawn in the bilge, disconnect the battery to disable the bilge pump, and drive around on the trailer while the detergent swishes around. Then select a location that will allow you to sleep at night, and pull the hull drain plugs and flush with fresh water.

Ill add one step in the clean up process, wipe as much up as you can before going to the wash step. Also when you change your fluids in the future I use a pet training pad to catch the oil that drips when changing the filter, makes clean up a snap.

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