I just did a launch with my Hunter 31. I had the boat winterized by a paid professional and low and behold I have no oil. I was dropped in the water, started the engine. It started in one attempt. Let it idle for about 5 minutes and because the harbor master was in a hurry, I scuttled slowly to my slip for this season. After cleaning up a bit in the cabin, I decided to take a peak at the engine.. All the oil from my yanmar engine was sitting in the oil pan. I checked the dip stick and I checked the area you add oil and it was empty. I called my mechanic and he said he would fix it up, not to worry and would be to the dock in the morning. So, how much harm was done to my diesel yanmar engine? Someone tonight told me this could of been a problem with the winterization. Something with the oil cooler. Can anyone offer anything on this matter? I will lose sleep regardless. I can't imagine this being ok.
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MAY OR MAY NOT BE
you may have been very lucky Since you shut it off before noticing a problem it is unlikely all the oil dumped out at once and in fact there may be some still in the engine. At this point it is too early to tell if any damage was done but let the mechanic get it fixed ,run it and see. If you are lucky may not be any problems I have see engines run on little or no oil(for short time period) before and not have major problems (once had a customer come in and add four quarts of oil to a Toyota, she still had the car and it ran good for 200,000 miles) First step get it fixed and evaluate engine then. You may want to do an oil sample and analyse after running the engine (assuming no problems) 50 or so hours. Good Luck and hope the news is good !!
you may have been very lucky Since you shut it off before noticing a problem it is unlikely all the oil dumped out at once and in fact there may be some still in the engine. At this point it is too early to tell if any damage was done but let the mechanic get it fixed ,run it and see. If you are lucky may not be any problems I have see engines run on little or no oil(for short time period) before and not have major problems (once had a customer come in and add four quarts of oil to a Toyota, she still had the car and it ran good for 200,000 miles) First step get it fixed and evaluate engine then. You may want to do an oil sample and analyse after running the engine (assuming no problems) 50 or so hours. Good Luck and hope the news is good !!
Oil warning alarm
Did your oil pressure alarm sound? If not then there was probably enough oil in the engine to lubricate the bearings. Unfortunately the psitons may not have gotten any oil splashed up on them. Make sure you check what little oil is still in there for signs of metal and do a compression test.
Did your oil pressure alarm sound? If not then there was probably enough oil in the engine to lubricate the bearings. Unfortunately the psitons may not have gotten any oil splashed up on them. Make sure you check what little oil is still in there for signs of metal and do a compression test.
I think it will depend on how long you ran without oil
You may be OK if you shut it down within a few minutes of losing all your oil. Since it sounds like you weren't under load and the engine didn't labor or seize up you might be OK. Engines can run for awile without oil pressure. I'd take a reading of the oil pressure in the morning and compare it to what normal pressure should be. A loss of oil pressure will indicate a possible scored main bearing which could be trouble. Listen for any unusual noises also that may indicate a loose bearing. Your mechanic can probably tell you if there is something not normal. I'm basing this off my experience years ago as a heavy equipment mechanic in the Army, so there may be other better opinions out there.
You may be OK if you shut it down within a few minutes of losing all your oil. Since it sounds like you weren't under load and the engine didn't labor or seize up you might be OK. Engines can run for awile without oil pressure. I'd take a reading of the oil pressure in the morning and compare it to what normal pressure should be. A loss of oil pressure will indicate a possible scored main bearing which could be trouble. Listen for any unusual noises also that may indicate a loose bearing. Your mechanic can probably tell you if there is something not normal. I'm basing this off my experience years ago as a heavy equipment mechanic in the Army, so there may be other better opinions out there.
Kinda like being a little pregnant?
Mr. Saylers, don't shoot the messenger here, but if that Yanmar was indeed run without oil, it REQUIRES a complete rebuild, no question about this scenerio. Yanmars are good engines, I love 'em, but they do need oil to keep their well deserved 'bullet-proof' reputaion. You wrote, "all my oil was in the bottom of my oil pan"? did you mean the bilge? A rebuild even if you have to pay for it yourself, this is your life your talking here mate!
Mr. Saylers, don't shoot the messenger here, but if that Yanmar was indeed run without oil, it REQUIRES a complete rebuild, no question about this scenerio. Yanmars are good engines, I love 'em, but they do need oil to keep their well deserved 'bullet-proof' reputaion. You wrote, "all my oil was in the bottom of my oil pan"? did you mean the bilge? A rebuild even if you have to pay for it yourself, this is your life your talking here mate!
Don't lose any sleep
that won't accomplish anything. If you have a low oil alarm and it didn't go off, then you are fine. You didn't put any real pressure on the motor, nor did you run it for a long time. There's always some oil in the passages anyway. Sounds like it was barely warmed up. You have done the prudent thing. Your mechanic is looking at it and changing the oil and filter. Check the old oil that comes out closely. Keep a close eye on the consumption for the next 10 times you use the motor. I check my oil every time just before I fire her up. I do it when open the thru hull. Good habit. Everything else can wait. Good luck and keep us informed. Keep it up, Ctskip
that won't accomplish anything. If you have a low oil alarm and it didn't go off, then you are fine. You didn't put any real pressure on the motor, nor did you run it for a long time. There's always some oil in the passages anyway. Sounds like it was barely warmed up. You have done the prudent thing. Your mechanic is looking at it and changing the oil and filter. Check the old oil that comes out closely. Keep a close eye on the consumption for the next 10 times you use the motor. I check my oil every time just before I fire her up. I do it when open the thru hull. Good habit. Everything else can wait. Good luck and keep us informed. Keep it up, Ctskip
Ah, the oil alarm..
It would not go off if he turned his key switch off while the engine is running. I have been reading posts here for 3 years and it's amazing that people do this but to our amazement, it is done. So, did you keep your key switch on so the alarm would have sounded??
It would not go off if he turned his key switch off while the engine is running. I have been reading posts here for 3 years and it's amazing that people do this but to our amazement, it is done. So, did you keep your key switch on so the alarm would have sounded??
I bet it is just fine.
Get it checked out by a "certified" Yanmar mechanic. You may have blown one of the external oil lines. You really don't know if "all" the oil was dumped out of the pan unless you have dropped the pan.
Get it checked out by a "certified" Yanmar mechanic. You may have blown one of the external oil lines. You really don't know if "all" the oil was dumped out of the pan unless you have dropped the pan.
There is NO ONE here who can tell you if it's either
OK or not, only YOU can do the analysis. Sorry about the lost sleep, but it's a reality. I understand your concern. (The "it's OK" vs the "it's toast" is running 50/50, huh? What does that tell you?) What I can tell you is what happened to us. When we first got our boat in 1998 I'd bought the alternator bracket upgrade kit, intending to install it "someday" - six months passed, and I hadn't done it, yet. So one day the old alternator bracket lets loose, which is why the upgrade bracket existed, and whacked the oil filter and drained it all out. Didn't notice until after motoring for only 5 minutes. (Same as your 5 minutes, but I was up throttle, not idling). Fixed the bracket. My story: engine had 900 hours when it happened. Has 2200 now, runs fine. (M25 Universal) I hope you have such good luck.
OK or not, only YOU can do the analysis. Sorry about the lost sleep, but it's a reality. I understand your concern. (The "it's OK" vs the "it's toast" is running 50/50, huh? What does that tell you?) What I can tell you is what happened to us. When we first got our boat in 1998 I'd bought the alternator bracket upgrade kit, intending to install it "someday" - six months passed, and I hadn't done it, yet. So one day the old alternator bracket lets loose, which is why the upgrade bracket existed, and whacked the oil filter and drained it all out. Didn't notice until after motoring for only 5 minutes. (Same as your 5 minutes, but I was up throttle, not idling). Fixed the bracket. My story: engine had 900 hours when it happened. Has 2200 now, runs fine. (M25 Universal) I hope you have such good luck.
Oil
Thought I would update you all. It turns out there was a small hole in the oil filter. This could of happened when the mechanic put in a new exhaust hose. I lost about 2 qts of oil so there was still some in the engine. I am told they hold a lot of the oil within. I am also told I did not run it long enough. The mechanic cleaned up the mess below the engine area, added the necessary oil and did some type of cleaner. He then ran the engine for some time and it all looks good. I will take the advice of one of the replies and check it each time before I go out just to make sure it did not cause some harm or to be sure it is not having new problems. Apparently-the alarm should of sounded if there was a problem. Since the alarm works because you can test it, all with luck should be good. Thanks for all your advice.
Thought I would update you all. It turns out there was a small hole in the oil filter. This could of happened when the mechanic put in a new exhaust hose. I lost about 2 qts of oil so there was still some in the engine. I am told they hold a lot of the oil within. I am also told I did not run it long enough. The mechanic cleaned up the mess below the engine area, added the necessary oil and did some type of cleaner. He then ran the engine for some time and it all looks good. I will take the advice of one of the replies and check it each time before I go out just to make sure it did not cause some harm or to be sure it is not having new problems. Apparently-the alarm should of sounded if there was a problem. Since the alarm works because you can test it, all with luck should be good. Thanks for all your advice.
We launched the other day and before I started the engine
I pulled the dip stick and checked the oil. We got to the slip and changed the fuel filters and the oil and oil filter and ran the engine everything was good so we shut down and went home . When next we were on the boat I checked to oil and wiped the engine and checked the oil. Nancy said that I had checked to oil last time. I told her that it didn't cost much to check the oil each time I started the engine and each time I shut it down.
I pulled the dip stick and checked the oil. We got to the slip and changed the fuel filters and the oil and oil filter and ran the engine everything was good so we shut down and went home . When next we were on the boat I checked to oil and wiped the engine and checked the oil. Nancy said that I had checked to oil last time. I told her that it didn't cost much to check the oil each time I started the engine and each time I shut it down.
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