Smoke coming out of oil fill port

[JonnyQuest]

Hi gang

Spring is here and I just finished scraping and vinegar bathing the manifold due to a complete water blockage. Tadah, plenty of water now and temps look great but a fair bit of smoke is now backing up the oil fill port and into the cabin. I assume this means there is a blockage in the dry side of the exhaust but then I'm a pure amateur.

Any pointers on where to troubleshoot next? I'll consult the manual tonight but also wanted to get some ideas from the community too.

Hope everyone is looking forward to a great spring sailing, I'll be out for a surgery. Wanted knock out some harder maintenance items first though to make for a quicker return to sailing after recovery.

Regards, Jonny Quest

[Marian Claire]

Sounds like blow-by. Google or search here for all kinds of info. If she has been sitting for awhile it may be as simple as the compression rings sticking. A few doses of MMO should free them up. Do you have a PCV valve? If so is it clogged/blocked ? Dan S/V Marian Claire

[JonnyQuest]

Hi Dan
It's not a lot of smoke, only noticed. Ecausd hatch was open and sunlight was illuminating the smoke. Seems like less now after a second time running it today. Yes it pretty much sat all winter. No Pcv valve here, only the rebreather hose going back to the flame arrestor. Perhaps I should just let things run for a couple of outings before concluding any real trouble.

If exhaust were blocked from exiting the rear of boat the engine would be running all afoul right?

[Marian Claire]

Right. If the exhaust was plugged she would not run at all. A partial blockage can cause slugish performance as you increase RPM. FWIW. It would not hurt to pull the plugs and give each cylinder a shot of MMO and let it sit before the next start up. It is normal to do that if you leave the engine for months with no use. She will blow some smoke out the exhaust for a few min, but it will help clean/free up the rings. Dan S/V Marian Claire

[JonnyQuest]

Engine runs well under load while tied to the dock (no sluggish performance), so I expect no blockage in the exhaust. Excellent idea about a shot of MMO in each cylinder, I need to clean up the plugs and knock the rust off the top of the engine after the winter, so your suggestion comes with good timing.

Thanks and regards,

JQ

[dvd]

Johnny

You have a problem that we all seem to be dealing with and there has been alot of discussion about. It sounds like you have some blowby which can be removed by installing a pcv kit. These cost about 75 bucks and will probably solve the problem. I put one on my motor because after extended running you could see small amount of hazy oil smoke inside the cabin when the sun shined on it just right. Although there are different opinions regarding this, it is my opinion that the blowby is a fairly normal thing to have with a motor that is being operating for extended periods of time, within a small enclosed space.

DVD

[ArtJ]

In the Past Don Moyer suggested running an engine at IDLE ONLY for a few hours
a day after draining crankcase and refilling with 4 or 5 quarts of MMO for several days in order to release stuck
rings.
Then drain and refill crankcase with 30 wt oil.

This dramatically improved compression on my engine brought all cylinders
compression to over 100 to 110 psi.


This along with adding the Indigo PCV valve kit should hopefully eliminate
smoking and oil usage.

Best Regards

Art

[CalebD]

Vinegar

I like to run a gallon or two of vinegar into my engine each season. Leave each gallon in the engine overnight and check the wet exhaust on start up the next day.
I hope it helps to clean out the block and manifold cooling passages.

[JonnyQuest]

Running vinegar through the engine definitely comes next, and then the MMO treatment before my next real outing.

Thanks all for the advise. Happy sails.

JQ

[jerry creager]

Tell Me More about MMO & PVC Valve

I've been following your thread and some of the discussions relate to some observarions about my P60. I assume MMO is Motor Magic Oil or something like it. Where can I get instructions about installing a PVC valve and where do I install it? I get some smoke when I push to about 2500 (guessing) RPM.

[ndutton]

This isn't the greatest shot but here's a picture of a PCV valve on a Palmer P60. There's been some talk around here that the valve should be oriented vertically to operate properly so this might not be the best example. Daniel (ball racing), notice the carburetor angle adapter?

[Ball Racing]

I see that,
Is that engine set up on a v-drive?
If not it seems to be angled the wrong way.
edit
(oh, never mind, I thought that was a atomic 4)

[edwardc]

...Is that engine set up on a v-drive?
If not it seems to be angled the wrong way....

The V-drive doesn't reverse the angle of mounting, just the direction. The flywheel end is still the high end, it's just towards the aft of the boat.

[sastanley]

Those "V" drives are one of the strangest arrangements I've ever seen!

From a perspective of boat design and shape (hull curving up toward the stern, so it is natural for the engine to be placed in a similar relationship), it makes perfect sense...it is still weird though!

Maybe we should put all engines in backwards (but no V-drive) and have the prop pull the boat (less disturbed too, since no strut/deadwood/shaft in front) thru the water like an airplane! If we could just get rid of the pesky keel, we could get nice clean undisturbed water for the prop.