I am new to diesels and have a 1977 Lancer with what I believe to be the original Yanmar motor. I am not certain but think it is a SB12. I can't locate any identifying numbers or plates on the visible parts of the motor. I did locate a possible serial number on an original document, which I sent to Yanmar. They could only confirm that the motor with this serial number is a 1977 model. All other records are lost.
I've had the boat for about three months and take it out two or three times a week. All told, I have probably put about 100 hours on the motor, and it runs great. Lately, I have noticed that it is smoking more than it used to. This should have been a clue that the motor was burning more oil. I had gotten lazy about checking the oil level, because it had remained constant the first twenty or so times that I checked it.
Last time we were going out, the low-pressure alarm was going off intermittently and the gauge indicated a drop in pressure from around 35 to below 10, the alarm would sound, and then the pressure would go up, and the alarm would stop. I shut down and checked the oil, and instead of being in the middle of the dipstick, the level was barely visible at the bottom. (This is the dipstick at the top of the engine). So, I climbed into the bilge to open the lower oil plug to add oil. There, I was surprised to find that the lower oil cap had a dipstick too. This dipstick indicated the oil was full. I don't know diesels but do have confidence in my dip-stick-reading abilities and decided to go with the upper dip stick reading.
I doubt the lower cap with the dipstick is original. It is bright yellow plastic and it reads "oil" on one side and has characters which appear to be Hanzi on the other. It is difficult to see--even with a flash light, so I have no picture of it. I reached in with my left hand and guided a rubber hose into the opening, and held a funnel in the other end of the hose with my right, while my partner poured the oil. I thought all the oil went into the opening, but was wearing a rubber glove and am not sure. I checked the oil level with the upper dip stick, which indicated a higher level for the oil, so I started the motor, the oil pressure was normal and there was no alarm, so we went out for a sail.
On the way back into port, we were motor-sailing into the harbor, healed about 8 degrees, and the alarm started to go off again. When we dropped the main, the boat flattened out and the alarm went silent. Once docked, I checked the level on the upper dip stick and it was barely visible again. I checked the bilge, and instead of clear water from my packing-gland drip, I had an oily mess. I was thinking that I must have an oil leak somewhere in the engine. But during cleanup, I noted that the oil was too clean to have been run through the motor. My thought is that some of the oil I added must have leaked out onto the floor of the bilge. (The contorted position I needed to maintain was somewhere between boat-yoga and pilates-with-purpose, so a little spillage could go undetected. I exited the bilge with torn blue jeans and blood on my forehead).
Next, I got a thin funnel and added the next quart of oil directly into the upper dip stick hole. I took a pic of the level, which is attached. I then ran the motor for about twenty minutes with an oil pressure of around 35 and no alarms and no apparent leaks.
Here is my question. There is no calibration for "full" or "add" on the dipstick. How do I know when it is full, and am I right to ignore the lower dipstick? I have read posts where people have gotten inconsistent readings from the same dip stick on their diesels. Is this possible?
My thoughts are to put more oil in so it reads at the middle of the dipstick. As long as there is no more oil in the bilge, I should be go to go. Does anyone have any other ideas? Barring any obvious leaks, my next step will be to remove all the oil and ad the 3 1/2 liters that "owners manual" reads. I use quotes, because I have no way to verify that I have the right manual.
I put a call into the last diesel mechanic who worked on the motor, but his is semi-retired and not likely to call me back.
I've had the boat for about three months and take it out two or three times a week. All told, I have probably put about 100 hours on the motor, and it runs great. Lately, I have noticed that it is smoking more than it used to. This should have been a clue that the motor was burning more oil. I had gotten lazy about checking the oil level, because it had remained constant the first twenty or so times that I checked it.
Last time we were going out, the low-pressure alarm was going off intermittently and the gauge indicated a drop in pressure from around 35 to below 10, the alarm would sound, and then the pressure would go up, and the alarm would stop. I shut down and checked the oil, and instead of being in the middle of the dipstick, the level was barely visible at the bottom. (This is the dipstick at the top of the engine). So, I climbed into the bilge to open the lower oil plug to add oil. There, I was surprised to find that the lower oil cap had a dipstick too. This dipstick indicated the oil was full. I don't know diesels but do have confidence in my dip-stick-reading abilities and decided to go with the upper dip stick reading.
I doubt the lower cap with the dipstick is original. It is bright yellow plastic and it reads "oil" on one side and has characters which appear to be Hanzi on the other. It is difficult to see--even with a flash light, so I have no picture of it. I reached in with my left hand and guided a rubber hose into the opening, and held a funnel in the other end of the hose with my right, while my partner poured the oil. I thought all the oil went into the opening, but was wearing a rubber glove and am not sure. I checked the oil level with the upper dip stick, which indicated a higher level for the oil, so I started the motor, the oil pressure was normal and there was no alarm, so we went out for a sail.
On the way back into port, we were motor-sailing into the harbor, healed about 8 degrees, and the alarm started to go off again. When we dropped the main, the boat flattened out and the alarm went silent. Once docked, I checked the level on the upper dip stick and it was barely visible again. I checked the bilge, and instead of clear water from my packing-gland drip, I had an oily mess. I was thinking that I must have an oil leak somewhere in the engine. But during cleanup, I noted that the oil was too clean to have been run through the motor. My thought is that some of the oil I added must have leaked out onto the floor of the bilge. (The contorted position I needed to maintain was somewhere between boat-yoga and pilates-with-purpose, so a little spillage could go undetected. I exited the bilge with torn blue jeans and blood on my forehead).
Next, I got a thin funnel and added the next quart of oil directly into the upper dip stick hole. I took a pic of the level, which is attached. I then ran the motor for about twenty minutes with an oil pressure of around 35 and no alarms and no apparent leaks.
Here is my question. There is no calibration for "full" or "add" on the dipstick. How do I know when it is full, and am I right to ignore the lower dipstick? I have read posts where people have gotten inconsistent readings from the same dip stick on their diesels. Is this possible?
My thoughts are to put more oil in so it reads at the middle of the dipstick. As long as there is no more oil in the bilge, I should be go to go. Does anyone have any other ideas? Barring any obvious leaks, my next step will be to remove all the oil and ad the 3 1/2 liters that "owners manual" reads. I use quotes, because I have no way to verify that I have the right manual.
I put a call into the last diesel mechanic who worked on the motor, but his is semi-retired and not likely to call me back.
