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Old 10-11-2010, 18:40   #1
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Oil (Over)Fill on a Yanmar . . .

With the assistance of another Hunter 285 owner at my marina, I changed the oil on my Hunter 285 for the first time. I have a Yanmaar 2GM20F 16 hp diesel enigine. I am not mechanically inclined but it was not very difficult once I had someone show me how to do it.

All went well; however now when I start the engine (when the engine is cold) it takes a number of cranks to get it to turn over. Also, I have to give the engine a little gas, to the point I am revving the engine. This causes the boat to spew out grey exhaust as the engine becomes flooded.

I checked the oil level and noticed that its above the "full line", and actually covers the entire dipstick. I believe we overfilled the engine and this is causing the above mentioned issues.

Does this sound reasonable? Has anyone ever experienced the same starting issue when they mistakenly add too much oil?

As a result, I purchased an oil extractor and will be removing 1-2 cups of oil this weekend when I get the chance.
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Old 10-11-2010, 19:14   #2
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This is a lot of pages to read but it does discuss Yanmar, their dip sticks, oil levels, etc.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...oes-49094.html
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Old 10-11-2010, 19:37   #3
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On my larger yanmar the blowby tube goes directly from the valve cover to the air intake. The overfull scenario could cause a great deal of smoke (ussually quite blue when it is engine oil burning-excess unburned diesel fuel ussually is quite black). The overfull scenario also has the potential to cause damage if way over as you discribe. Remove the excess and all will be fine ...I'll bet.
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Old 10-11-2010, 19:53   #4
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What was the oil level after you changed the oil?
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Old 10-11-2010, 20:20   #5
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Originally Posted by lake norman 285 View Post
I checked the oil level and noticed that its above the "full line", and actually covers the entire dipstick. .
Sounds pretty overfull to me.
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Old 10-11-2010, 20:44   #6
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According to the specs it's only suppose to take 2 lt. of oil at an 8º incline.
I'd drain it all out, filter included, and add just the 2 liters, run it, turn it off and wait 10 minutes and check the oil. That should be it's highest level since the filter was already wet.

Here's the Op. Manual for your motor.
http://www.yanmarmarine.com/theme/ya...nual-Multi.pdf
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Old 11-11-2010, 18:45   #7
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1) i assume you drained the old oil when the engine was still hot so you could get most of it out... (2) remember that even when you drained 'hot', as in (1), there is an unknown quantity of oil lying in the oil pan beyond reach of your pump. . the best pumps won't get all that oil out of the oil pan, so there is x amount of oil in the oil pan after you've pumped dirty oil out. then you add exactly the amount of oil that it says in the owner guide , and unfortunately you have now over filled the engine, BECAUSE the owner manual figure for say 4 quarts is the total lube oil capacity of the engine, including the oil in the oil pan. and you now have 4 quarts plus x quarts left in the oil pan. this 2 Gm20F relies on splash lubrication. overfilling the splash-lube engines with oil is is VERY BAD because such engines are not only lubricated from an oil circulation pump, but are also splash-lubricated. in this engine design , the oil in the oil pan splashes up to lubricate the cylinder walls. the engine would prefer to burn pure diesel with a proper air mix. . with adequate lubrication of the cylinder walls from splash lubrication with the right amount of oil in the pan, the fuel burns properly . when the oil is overfilled, there is excess oil in the oil pan. more oil then splashes into the cylinders, and too much oil in the cylinders will adversely affect the ability of the engine to combust the diesel fuel it is trying to burn. (and give black smoke and rough running.) so your poor engine is trying to burn the diesel at a known air-to-fuel ratio as set by the injector pump, but its precision fuel-to-air ratio coming out of the injectors is now screwed up because there is excess oil splashing up which the engine has to combust . so the engine runs rough or not at all, until the excess oil is gone. so GET THAT OIL OUT!!
now the questions are: how do we get the oil out of a cold engine without running it to get the oil hot.. well there are some good vacuum pumps that will get enough oil out 'cold' , though it will take longer. i am guessing that the 2Gm20F takes about 4 quarts as stated in the owner manual, so that is probably how much oil you put in .. but this is too much oil, as no pump can get all the oil out of your oil pan. the Rx: i'd take out about a 1/2 quart with the vacuum pump. get the oil dipstick between low and high. then start the engine, see if it runs better. you can now 'top up' the oil about an ounce at a time to get it to the 'high' mark; and remember that even with the engine hot it will still take ten minutes or so for the oil you've just put in to drip down so that you get an accurate measure on the dipstick. How to avoid this next time : remove your oil when the engine is hot, suck it out with a good engine oil change pump like the topsider MVP vacuum pump or the west marine oil extractor. if you were pumping with a little manual pump like the brass 'little pal', you might not be getting as much oil out as with the more powerful pumps. now the last trick : we assume that you kept your oil topped up to the 'full' mark on the dipstick : as you pump the old used oil out, pour it into a few clear plastic quart milk jugs.(you'll need 4 or 5..) measure what you took out so you'll know how much oil you successfully removed.. you now put back the same quantity of clean new oil that that you removed, and you'll never overfill the engine with oil again.

by the way it took going to yanmar school and overfilling my own engines to figure this out.

if it is too cold in your area to get enough oil out with a good pump, there is usually an oil pan drain bolt in an obscure location . loosening the drain bolt with a large pan to catch the dripping oil will let you get a lot of oil out, but it's hard to control the flow, you will get all oily, and you don't want oil in your bilge.....

i congratulate you on your effort to do your own maintenance on your engine. this forum is a good source to check for little clues and tips when you are doing these jobs so that we can all benefit from each other's mistakes... if you will be doing more work, you can get the yanmar service manual and parts manual for your style engine, and these books about 44$ will be the best $$$ you spend as they tell you all kinds of stuff the owners manual does not. (for example if you are tempted to change your # 2 fuel filter , the parts book shows a 'crush washer ' and filter. remember that you should also replace the copper 'crush washer' that maintains a good seal on the filter. most parts places won't tell you you also need the washer.. ) i could go on and on.....
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Old 11-11-2010, 19:08   #8
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delmarrey, that is overkill to drain it all including filter. Always fill to the dip stick Not by the manual stated capacity.
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Old 11-11-2010, 22:19   #9
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delmarrey, that is overkill to drain it all including filter. Always fill to the dip stick Not by the manual stated capacity.
Gee, I'm sorry. But it only takes about a minute to pump out the oil pan if one has the Yanmar pump. The newer Yanmars have the dip-stick all the way to the back and at the very bottom of the oil pans. On my 3JH4E the oil can be cold to pump out, which is actually better because ALL the oil is in the pan by the time it cools.


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Old 12-11-2010, 06:02   #10
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old 1gms 2 gms 3gms don't have the integral oil pumps and when i last inquired there was no retrofit. imho the best alternative is the external vacuum pump like the topsider mvp....
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Old 12-11-2010, 08:16   #11
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MitchM and all others, thank you for all of your advice. This really is an excellent board!! I have learned an incredible amount over the last few months reading all the posts....

I purchased an "oil extractor" from West Marine and will pump out the excess oil tomorrow.

The engine has run very little since the oil was changed so hopefully no damage has been done. Sicne the oil change, the only time the engine is difficult to start and when black smoke appears is when its cold and has not been operated in a while. Once the engine is warm, it will startup without any issues (and no black exhaust).

I will let you know how it turns out!

Thanks,
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Old 12-11-2010, 08:23   #12
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did you pull the dip stick out , then clean it with a rag before checking final level? the dipstick will be full of oil if you just pull it out and look.
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Old 12-11-2010, 08:27   #13
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I pulled out the dipstick, wiped it down, placed it back in the engine, then pulled it out again. The dipstick reads above the "full" line.
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Old 12-11-2010, 09:18   #14
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As stated. get the oil out.

If it is possible, you might want to take the oil pan out and have a drain plug put in. The previous owner did that on our 3gm30f. Makes life a loooooooooooooooot easier draining the oil. Just put a big 3mil trash bag under it..drain it.. plug it. done. No pump! Then put in 2.6 qts and recheck.

I would strongly suggest taking a Mack Boring class if at all possible. Worth its weight in gold.
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Old 12-11-2010, 09:28   #15
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I have the 2GM raw water cooled model. With the oil warm, changing the filter every time, it seems like the last bit of oil just won't drain. I pump the old oil into an old oil container with the volume markings on the side and try to gauge about how much oil came out (allowing for the filter) and try to approximate that much oil going back in, crank the engine, shut it off and let the oil drain for half an hour and check it again. I would say 1.75 liters is about what it takes. i don't know if there is a buildup in the pan or if some oil pools in the journals or what, but I may never solve that mystery. Good luck.
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