no oil pressure

photo finish · Post by **photo finish** » Thu Dec 23, 2004 8:37 am

Help again, just when i thought i was ready for a cruise.i was taking my boat out for a test run to test out the new autopilot and flowscan,I just got my boat up on plane at 3000rpm and i noticed my port engine would not go past 3000rpm.so i brought them down to idle. then my port oil pressure light came on and my pressure guage read 0.so i turned off the port and looked in the engine room and everything looks normal, dipstick reads full, no oil in the bilge and the engine was not overheated.i turned on the port again and the engine was making a loud knocking noise it did not sound bad to me it just sounded like the engine was running without oil.could this be an oil pump gone bad? help!!! Tim Stamm Photo Finish 1981 33' Bertram FBC

Post by **Admin** » Thu Dec 23, 2004 8:42 am

Sounds like a very unfortunate possibility. This may be messy, but you can pull a valve cover and see if you have any oil up top when turning it over (don't let it start). The timing of the coincidence is rather suspicious though as you just had work done on it. Can you think of anything that may have been done that could have an effect? Sometimes the relationship of action and reaction are hard to see. Regardless, not the kind of Christmas present you were hoping to receive I'm sure. Very sorry to hear about the problem. David Sumich Bertram33.com Forum Administrator

Post by **dougl33** » Thu Dec 23, 2004 8:43 am

Tim, That stinks. Unfortunately I can't offer any insight. You'll have to wait until Frank or one of the other guys chimes in. Good Luck. Regards, Doug L. 1986 33 Bertram FBC Queen Elizabeth

photo finish · Post by **photo finish** » Thu Dec 23, 2004 9:08 am

thanks guys, the only thing that i did that would effect the situation is change the oil and oil filter.the only thing i did different was i could not get a ph30 fram filter so i put on their next level upgraded filter which was a fram tg30 other than that the oil went out the dipstick and in the valve cover... Tim Stamm Photo Finish 1981 33' Bertram FBC

Post by **Admin** » Thu Dec 23, 2004 9:13 am

Well, I suspect that there is something there, that is just too much of a coincidence. Maybe that filter isn't right or something. I would start by getting the exact filter you need. David Sumich Bertram33.com Forum Administrator

photo finish · Post by **photo finish** » Thu Dec 23, 2004 9:35 am

perhaps,the other thing that i did diferrent was that i filled the filter with oil before i installed it...i usually do not do that.i will t4ry a new filter i just pulled that one off and dumped it out it looked and felt full of oil however when i dumped it out not much oil came out but the filter felt heavy like it was still full..so maybe the filter is too fine to handle the thick 20w50 oil we use here in fl. Tim Stamm Photo Finish 1981 33' Bertram FBC

Post by **Admin** » Thu Dec 23, 2004 11:22 am

Quite possible. I always fill the filter first, and you should in fact do that, so the system is not starved of oil for any period of time. But maybe you are right about the filter and the weight of the oil. Hopefully, this is what your problem is and you didn't suffer any damage. Good luck. David Sumich Bertram33.com Forum Administrator

franklyprice · Post by **franklyprice** » Thu Dec 23, 2004 12:29 pm

Tim, I agree with what the guys are saying. The filter would be my first place to look. Did you change both filters with the same? In my case, I use only original Merc. filters, both gas and oil, and Merc. 25w-40 oil. I'm very happy with both and the price is not much different . You may have a defective filter also. I've had frams that were manufactured improperly and wouldn't even tighten the gasket. I don't know what a tg30 filter is but you have to be a little careful with this stuff. It could even be a reverse flow filter which would have a check valve going the wrong way. If you run it with a new filter and it doesn't come up to pressure, the next place to check would be to pull the distributor and make sure the oil pump shaft is intact. A long shot but the thicker oil could have caused too much load on the drive shaft of the pump. First though get the right filter, fill it first, install it and crank it until you get pressure. Remember 30 seconds of cranking requires 2 minutes of cool down time for the starter. Good luck. Frank Price

photo finish · Post by **photo finish** » Thu Dec 23, 2004 6:04 pm

i changed out the filter and cranked the engine just for 1min. the engine still made a knocking sound so i turned it off right away.however,the oil pressure came back to normal. i had a friend listen to the engine the next time i cranked it . and he thinks he hears the lower rods making the noise.He thinks i had a bad filter which caused an oil blockage. which caused some damage to the lower rods which means a major problem.I find it hard to believe that i could have done damage when i shut the engine down immediately. is it possible that since there was no oil going through the engine that the engine has to run for more than a minute or two (now that i have full pressure with the new filter)to get enough oil back through the engine to stop the pinging sounds? Frank,a tg30 is supposed to be an adequate replacement for a ph30 which is what i normally use.so maybe it was just a bad filter. i did replace both filters .when i put the new ph30 filter.i did not fill the filter with oil because i wanted to see if when i crank the engine the oil pump would fill the filter so i pulled the filter off and it was full and i had full pressure but i still have the noise. Tim Stamm Photo Finish 1981 33' Bertram FBC

Post by **Admin** » Thu Dec 23, 2004 7:55 pm

Man, it is hard to say whether or not you have done permament damage or not. If it was truly just a minute or two that you ran in this state, you should be okay. However, if the engines got up to operating temps in this condition, you could be royally f**ked. I would hold on to that oil filter for sure incase it was faulty, because if it was, you may have legal recourse. I surely hope that that is not the case. If you are screwed, there is no way to get around it, so running the engines to see if the knocking stops shouldn't make much of a difference, but knocking usually goes away pretty damn quick when it is only temporary. Good luck Tim, I hope all ends well. David Sumich Bertram33.com Forum Administrator

franklyprice · Post by **franklyprice** » Fri Dec 24, 2004 4:36 am

Tim, Dave is right on the money.A fairly tight fresh engine will run for an amazing amount of time with no oil pressure but as an engine ages and the clearances loosen up, it becomes more important for that protective film to be there.I think if I were you I'd do as Dave suggested and try running it a bit more as long as you do have some oil pressure but only at IDLE! If you spun a bearing, the oil passageway to that journal will probably be blocked and it could seize. If the noise doesn't go away within another couple minutes, and let's face it, it's unlikely at this point to improve by itself, I'd make sure fram recommends this filter for this application and then you need to find out what recourse you have. It sure sounds like fram killed your engine. Are you ready for a re-power yet? Tim, You are sure learning the hard way with this boat. Is you whole life like this? Murphy seems to have found you in a big way. Frank Price

Post by **dougl33** » Fri Dec 24, 2004 6:07 am

Well, it is X-mas. Could a new set of 8.1's find their way under the tree? Good Luck! Regards, Doug L. 1986 33 Bertram FBC Queen Elizabeth

photo finish · Post by **photo finish** » Fri Dec 24, 2004 7:29 am

Thats funny Doug i was just looking up santas phone number. Tim Stamm Photo Finish 1981 33' Bertram FBC

photo finish · Post by **photo finish** » Fri Dec 24, 2004 7:51 am

frank, i am not usually this unlucky...i think i just have the typical new old boat syndrome. i was hoping to get 2 years out of the old engines not 3 months.my thought on buying this boat is to buy an older boat with a great hull and reputation and get it at the right price to repower it when needed. it appears that my port engine has got major problems so now i have to make the decision of rebuild or repower.i am sold on that if i repower that i want gas not diesel due to the fact that my family cant handle diesel fumes.so it looks like the options are basically 8.1s. i will continue the repower option on the repower topic so we dont start mixing discussions. Tim Stamm Photo Finish 1981 33' Bertram FBC