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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Ideas on oil leak from dinghy OB

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Initially Posted - 08/27/2012 : 23:56:55

I've got my new Coleman 5hp dinghy OB that's actually made by a Chinese company called Parsun. If I store it any way other than vertically, the oil leaks out. I've read the manual, and followed the instructions for how to store it, and thought I'd figured it out. I stored it on the clamps as shown in the manual, and in the back of my truck, no leaks, let it sit for several hours in my dock box, no leaks, but leave it for a week or two, oil drained. I have no idea why unless it's leaking past a seal somewhere? The oil filler cap is gasketed & screwed down so that's not it. I don't have anywhere to store it upright, it pretty much needs to go in the dockbox horizontally. I can store it somewhat more vertically in there, but maybe at a 30 degree angle and I'm afraid it's just going to leak there too. I suppose I can experiment with it there, but I'd really like to solve the problem so I don't have to worry about it.

My idea is to bring it home, fill it with oil, and then place it on a piece of cardboard so I can see where it starts to leak. Got any other ideas how I can sort this out?

David
C-250 Mainsheet Editor

Sirius Lepak
1997 C-250 WK TR #271 --Seattle area Port Captain --

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OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3449 Posts

Response Posted - 08/28/2012 : 03:59:18

David,

I tried searching on the web to see if any others with same problem and with a fix but I had no luck finding a fix or nailing down where the leak comes from. There were some comments that these outboards sometimes have seals that crack but if you search on just about any outboard, you will find some that have issues and others that praise their outboards.

However, apparently you are not alone with your type of issue. One item came up was actually an Amazon.com poster's review of the outboard. Overall, there were only about 4-5 reviews ranging proportionaltey from 5 to 1 star. Here's the one that mentions similar issue:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Outboard, June 18, 2012
By Corbett B. Coburn III (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Coleman 5 HP Outboard Motor (Sports)
This is a good little outboard motor. Like another reviewer, we could not get it started on the first day. This is because we did not know about the safety key. It helps to read the manual first.

There IS one problem with this motor. If you lay it on its side, it leaks oil like a sieve. In fact, oil pours out. Makes it difficult to transport the motor in the bed of a pickup truck. Other than that, there are no problems.

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awetmore
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1144 Posts

Response Posted - 08/28/2012 : 11:05:27

Oil usually leaves a pretty nice trail. Can you figure out where the leak originated by looking closely?

The manual more or less says to keep the oil drained during storage:
"Keep the outboard motor in an upright attitude when storing it. If storing the outboard motor
on its side (not upright), put it on a cushion after draining the engine oil completely."

If you don't need the power for your dinghy I bet you could sell this motor and get a Honda, Tohatsu or Suzuki 2hp one that can be stored on it's side for some hassle but no real dollar loss.

alex

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 08/28/2012 : 13:15:03

Yeah, it's almost like they know there's a problem, but didn't want to fix it. I like the idea of trying to trade it for a smaller OB.

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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9078 Posts

Response Posted - 08/28/2012 : 17:43:37

Guess I won't buy my next chartplotter from Coleman... If I did, I might be the first (or second).

Something to be said for experience (and success).

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 08/28/2012 17:44:35

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 08/28/2012 : 18:35:03

Well, I didn't buy this engine, I traded a rifle for it that I paid a whole lot less for in the '90's than what it's worth today and ended up never once shooting. I didn't do much research on it other than looking it up on Coleman's site and verifying that it sold at Walmart for $1k. It was a 4 stroke and I wanted one to replace my two stroke (which never leaked oil...). The guy I traded it to had never used it, his son had bought it new, put it in his garage and then got deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. When he came back, he was transfered out of state and had no use for or access to the OB and was far more interested in the rifle which his dad could ship to him.

When I got the OB, the oil sump was dry with no evidence of it having leaked. The "Fill with oil" sticker was still on the top of the shroud where you couldn't miss it, and no fuel in the tank. I suspect it had never been started by the son, but I'd brought oil with me as well as gas and ear muffs, and it started on about the third pull.

I'm going to take some photos of it and see if I can work some kind of trade for a smaller OB as Alex suggested.

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awetmore
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1144 Posts

Response Posted - 08/29/2012 : 09:31:04

It seems pretty easy to find used Honda 2hp outboards on Seattle's CL for $400 or less. I watched for them for two weeks and bought one that was in my neighborhood after passing up half a dozen spread around the area. Ours has been very reliable so far this year and the light weight is fantastic. It is really easy for my wife to hand it to down to me if I'm standing in the dinghy and she's on the sailboat. I've even carried it down into the dinghy as I've stepped on, but I wouldn't recommend that.

It's a bit loud, but not terrible. We're looking at larger sailboats right now and the Honda dinghy outboard will come with us to the new one unless the new boat comes with the identical motor.

The Suzuki looks great too, but I haven't seen many of them come up used. The Tohatsu/Nissan/Mercury is also pretty cheap and easy to find, but is a lot heavier.

It seems like it should be pretty easy to sell an almost new 5hp outboard for more than $400 on our local CL. Of course as I write this I don't see any 2hp Honda's listed, but I'm sure that more of them will come up as summer winds down.

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awetmore
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1144 Posts

Response Posted - 08/30/2012 : 08:04:43

Someone pointed this out on the Duck Dodge Facebook group:
http://threesheetsnw.com/events/bankruptcy-auction/

It looks like they have a Honda 2HP and a Tohatsu 3.5 that will be at that auction. Maybe you'll get lucky and get one of them for a good deal?

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 08/30/2012 : 10:30:40

Thanks Alex!

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.