Oil Problem

[Ray Chapman]

I have a 2GM20F with about 500 hours. I moved the boat to Florida in the Fall. When I started the trip engine had 171 hours. I had always changed the oil every 50 hours and did not notice any usage of oil. On the way down, I noticed that it seemed to be using oil. I changed the oil every 100 hours on the trip and had to add a quart between oil changes. During the trip I cruised at between 2600 and 2800 RPM. I changed from 30 wt to 40 wt and that seemed to reduce the oil usage. I have recently noticed that it is getting hard to start and blows smoke when it first starts up.My first question is what might cause it to start using oil.The second is could the hard starting be related.

 

[Richard]

O no

It sounds like the piston rings are going away. You should remove the fuel injectors and do a compression test. Call for help...........

 

[Guest]

New engine

With 500 hours on the engine it is just barely broken in. The symptoms you describe could be a loss of compression but it is highly unlikely, the engine is brand new. Hard starting is also a symptom of bad fuel. It could also be a malfunctioning fuel injector, that could be the result of lesser quality fuel - or incompatable additives. I would start off with a seperate fuel supply, with quality, unadulterated fuel and see what happens. The oil consumption may not be excessive. You must expect to uses some lube oil or it's not doing its job. For every piston stroke, oil is squirted on the cylinder walls. Most of it is dragged off by the oil ring but some is left behind to lubricate the piston and the rest of the rings. During the power stroke, a great part of what was left is burned off and goes out the exhaust. If you consider how many squirts were burned off in 50 hours at 2700 RPM it may not appear too much. (8,100,000) The recommended oil for your engine is 15W40. This would give the same protection as your present 40 weight but it would allow the engine to crank faster when cold. this could be a contributing factor to the harder starting.