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**sailorchic34** · 23-05-2014, 09:50

Well that all cylinders are working find is a very good sign.

Did you check that the crankcase breather was clear. That is take the hose of the valve cover and blow into it. IF clogged it could cause oil consumption.

check for oil in the coolant tank too.

Probably not an exhaust valve stem leaking as when the exhaust valve is open the cylinder side is pressurized from combustion. Oil normally only enters via the intake valve guides.

My primary guess is the oil cooler is leaking. It's the only thing that could leak that much oil in that short a time. Could be a head gasket too, but 2 quarts is a massive use rate. Valve stems would not use that much. That sheen of oil is unburnt oil. If the head gasket was blown then you would see blue grey smoke out the exhaust not oil sheen on the water.

When you tested the oil cooler before, was the engine cold or hot. I'm thinking when cold the oil cooler may be bypassed as the oil pretty much bypasses the oil filter till it's warm enough to flow through it anyway. Easy check is bypass the raw water around the cooler and run the engine for 15 minutes at low speed till it reaches operating temperature. I'm betting you'll see oil leaking out the water side.

wingssail · 24-05-2014, 14:48

Well, we've gotten to Puntarenas, two nice afternoons of sailing and a great anchorage in between. (Gotta look for the silver lining).

The mechanic agrees with you all and I guess I do too, and I'm hoping, because this is an easy fix. He'll pull off the oil cooler and take it to be pressure tested. In the meantime I'll probably run the 1 hour test suggested. My last test bypassing the oil cooler was just a few minutes.

BTW, today we motored up the river to the marina, dead slow due to the shallow water, and...No noticable oil loss in 1 hour.

We will update this forum when we get definitive answers.