Oil in Bilge - likely culprits?

mvgvb

Hey all,

Just had some work done on my outdrive after our Volvo trim pump blew. All seems good now, but just found some oil in the bilge.

Got it out and went for a ride today with some more in there after. Picture below.

engine oil seems fine. Any obvious culprits to check?

YYZRC

Hard to tell what color the oil is. Brown (engine) vs blue (drive) vs red or clear (trim pumps or power steering). Looks on the clear side to me?

mvgvb

Yes I'd say clear side.

But given we did just have the trim pumps worked on... maybe the likely option?

aero3113

Looks like trim fluid.
Could it be residual that they didn’t clean up?
Hopefully the level stays correct.

YYZRC

Sometimes as you bleed the air out of the system, the trim fluid gets saturated with air and overflows. Keep an eye on it and make sure your trim fluid level is between min and max lines. 

mvgvb

@YYZRC Apologies for the stupid question... but this is a new one for me. Where do I check the trim fluid on a Volvo outdrive?

it's a 280 EC single engine with a 8.1 and duoprop. 

echandler1971

Trim fluid will be in containers above the back of your engine, mounted on the transom wall. The fluid is hydraulic fluid to trim out outdrives up and down with the thumb buttons on your shifter. So, trim fluid is separate from the engines. 

YYZRC

Should look something like this. Min and max lines will be embossed on the reservoir. 

PickleRick

mvgvb said:

Hey all,

Just had some work done on my outdrive after our Volvo trim pump blew. All seems good now, but just found some oil in the bilge.

Got it out and went for a ride today with some more in there after. Picture below.

engine oil seems fine. Any obvious culprits to check?

This looks like the bilge of a Bayliner, not a rinker

mvgvb

@YYZRC is it possible the reservoir is on the outside of the drive on a Penta?

From what I can tell the trim and gear reservoirs may only be accessible from the outdrive (and when out of the water).

those seem like the two most likely culprits based on color, but would that oil even make it into the engine compartment?

Lake_Bum

The hydralic fluid reservoir for my Rinker, is on the very back, lower part of the transom behind the batteries on the port side.  It is semi-hidden by the panel.  There is a access port that can be removed very easily to see it on mine.  I recently had a leaky cap fixed. It had let a very slow leak, get my reservoir low enough that the drive wouldn't raise or lower.  To get me thru the trip, I just topped off, and fixed when I got home. 

The other possible source of your oily bilge, is the drive oil reservoir.  Mine always seems to leak just a tiny bit, even after replacing with new.  My drive likes to "burp" a few times a season, and I top off the reservoir accordingly.