Help Me Gearheads

[Scott Smith]

Before I get started, I must preface this message by saying that, Yes, I know I did a very stupid thing, and yes, I've already taken preventative measures to keep it from happening again. So here goes....



Last Thursday, I was prepping my boat for a weekend at the cottage. Part of this preparation included, topping off the remote 2 gallon oil tank. I added about an inch of oil to top the tank off. Then up to the cottage I went. At some point during the weekend, I noticed that my 150XR6 motor was idling a little rough (not much, just a tad). A little while after that, a light bulb appeared over my head when I realized what I had done.



So here's the jist of it. I run Merc Premium Plus in my motor. The good jugs of oil are kept in a cabinet in my garage. In my haste to get outta town, I grabbed a Merc Premium Plus jug off the floor and added it to my tank. This jug contained old oil, which I drained out of my lawn tractor which is SAE30 oil.



So I ask you gearheads, what horror have I done to my motor. Like I said, I only added about an inch to what was nearly a full tank. I ran the motor up at my lake for maybe 30 minutes tops (I was fishing the rest of the time, did darn well I might add).



I intend to drain the tank, refill with Premium Plus, decarb the motor and add new plugs. Anything else I need to do..?? Or need to look for..?? The motor is running great, no loss of power and starts right up. But like I said, I noticed that it started idling rough, normally it does'nt do this at all even though its a carbed motor.



Thanks for the input....Smitty

 

[Greg Meyer]

Smitty,



Until you are willing to reveal the location of ALL your "holy" smallmouth waters... No gear head here will help you...LOL....



I would add one more step... clean the oil lines as far back as the motor...

 

[Jim B]

I would also drain the engine mounted tank as well and refill it. You should also run a compression check to make sure you didnt damage anything inside the motor.

 

[Scott Smith]

Ok this is good so far, I can clean the lines back to the motor, no problem. But Jim, why do I need to drain the engine mounted tank as well.., nothin goes in there and nothin comes out till it's needed..right..? Compression check...!! Thats waaaay beyond my scope, unless it's something I can easily learn to do, otherwise that's shop time..but if the consesus feels it's necessary I'll "get 'er done."

 

[Jim B]

Smitty what happens is the oil goes from the tank in the boat into the tank on the motor then to the carbs. So if you put bad oil into the tank in the boat it for sure is in the engine mounted tank also.



I would also get a compression check as well, its a pretty good indicator of the health of the motor internals. After you clean the oil system out you will also have to purge the air form the lines. If you dont you can airlock the system and that is fatal if the motor gets no oil. you may want to have a pro clean the oil system as well just to make sure its done right.

 

[Greg Meyer]

Smitty,



The engine mounted tank is "in the system"... It fills by vacum pressure from the remote... The giood news is that the "polluted/bad oil" has probably been pretty well diluted from the remote resevoir where it was mixed like 6 or 7 to 1 and then as it was pulled into the engine mounted tank it was dilutedf further so very little has gotten near the motor... But, it all needs to be cleaned back to the pump... So, if you are not ready with a shop manual it probably is a profeesional job... Cleaning it isn't tough, it is from what I understand, getting the system primed that is a little trickier... Don't know because I am an OMC guy with an excellent mechanic...

 

[Scott Smith]

Thanks dudes, looks like I'll be taking it in then. Sure hope it's a quick turnaround..when I get back from Ocean City (my kids national dance tournament), I'm headed up to those HOLY smallmouth waters for 10 days of nothin but fishin...oh and eatin and drinkin....thanks for the info..

 

[Bill Kish2]

Smitty,



I did the same thing two boats ago.



Almost the same story. Expect I didnt figure it out till 3 hours into it.



I took the boat to the dealer and they cleaned the oil system out and changed the plugs.



Never had a problem after.



Total cost was $200 or so.



Good Luck!

 

[Greg Meyer]

Smitty...



One last piece of "advice"... I put used oil into old laundry soap containers... Keeps me from filling my boat resevoir with Tide...

 

[Bruce Freeman]

I may be wrong here is so please don't bite my head off. Isn't most 2 cycle oil staight 30 anyway? It may cause carbon problem but I don't think it will hurt the engine. But again I may be wrong so it is best to ask the tech that services your boat reguarly..

BF

 

[Greg Meyer]

At one time... 2 cycle oil was indeed straight "non-detergent" 30W... But, that was back in my "youth"...when the cans were "pointy" and came with a bottle cap! Today, those cans are collector's items (treasures really).



Now, TCW-3 2 cycle oil is more complex than the motor oil in your car/truck.



However, the big problem here was that it was used oil... all kinds of nasties are disolved in old lubricating oil, ot to mention small metal particles. Any of those "thingies" could clog the oil injection system or cause a lubrication failure... Instant boat anchor!

 

[Travis Smith]

Pointy? Bottle Cap? Oil Can?





These things have what in common?







T.S.

 

[Greg Meyer]

Travis,



I shall hunt you down and disassemble you and then junk your parts... LOL Wait, just like me... you WILL grow old!

 

[Scott Smith]

Thanks to all who chimed in on this. I chatted with Craig Roberts at the BPS service center yesterday about my issue and he was nice enough to run it by the head Techie there. His advise just about mirrored what PMgoff had to say. Therefore, I'm following their advice and keeping my fingers crossed....thanks again boys, and wish me luck...

 

[Michael Snow]

I have to ask here. Why change the plugs? They may be fouled, but soaking in a little gasoline (the part below the thread and maybe a little run over it with an emory board between the two parts that create the spark should be enough, right?



In my high school's auto shop, they had a spark plug sandblaster, where you just stuck the plug it, and pulled it out.

 

[Larry Harp]

Snow, what are you thinking? This is America in the 21st century. People don't clean and re-use stuff anymore. Silly boy.



Harpo

 

[Marke Cicero]

I too have to agree that changing the plugs sounds a little extreme. A good cleaning may be in order, but replacing????