# Oil level in Yanmar 2GM



## L124C (Oct 4, 2007)

I have a Yanmar 2GM. The manual calls for a little over 2 quarts of oil. The full mark on the dip stick is Probably a quart higher than two quarts would register. The PO's ran it at the two quart level. I called the Yanmar dealer hip and they wouldn't say anything without looking at the motor (of course). I've been running it at the higher level without a problem thinking that more oil (within limits) is better. Another guy with the same motor told me he does the same. I assume the mechanic who did the installation (replaced an A 4)probably determined the high mark and should have the last word. Thoughts?


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## Gary M (May 9, 2006)

I have a 2GM and my manual calls for 1.9 litres which is about 1.8 us quarts. Of course the correct amount could vary depending on when built and any factory changes to the pan etc.

It is definately not OK to run an engine with too much oil. I would confirm that you have the correct manual and then trust it. Your dip stick may not be the original one and therefore wrong.

Gary


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## Sanduskysailor (Aug 1, 2008)

At a diesel seminar last week the mechanic said that he would rather see the oil level near the bottom mark than the top. He noted that people with Yanmars tend to overfill them which causes problems.


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

Go with the manual recommendation for oil quantity. 

It sounds like you may have the wrong dipstick, or your engine is installed with some inclination, or your boat trim is off (are you on the hard?).

My conversion formulas put 1.9 liters at slightly more than 2 U.S. quarts.

P.S. We had a 2GM20F in our previous boat, and at 2 qts it showed full on the dipstick.


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## Omatako (Sep 14, 2003)

I agree with Gary that it's not good to run with excess oil. Truth is, if you don't keep topping the oil up, it will burn down to the correct level quite quickly (and probably smoke more than you would like in the process).

I agree with John P that 1.9 litres is 2 US quarts and also second (or is that third) that the dipstick is probably not original or the tube cap has moved down the stick. When next you do an oil drain, put in the recommended 2 quarts and remark your dipstick at the known value.

Sandy, the guy who said that the oil is better too low than too high is not making allowances for motoring in heavy seas when the motor oscillates through a big enough angle to cause it to cavitate. Best keep the level where it belongs, it's not hard and it'll save some heartache.


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## denby (Feb 21, 2007)

I have a 2GM20F and it takes two quarts.


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## jason3317 (Dec 20, 2007)

It's a 2 qt crankcase fill. No more, no less.

The reason your dipstick misreads is due to installation angle....the oil pools higher towards the lower section of the pan. Or, as someone else suggested, you have the wrong dipstick....which is very, very, doubtful.

Too little oil is bad. Too much oil is much worse. The increased pressures can damage seals, rings and other very sensitive expensive parts.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*DO NOT RUN DIESELS WITH TOO MUCH OIL!! THEY CAN, AND HAVE, RUN AWAY.*

The problem is that when you have too much oil in a diesel the blowby, cause by the piston on the downward stroke, causes oil to enter the combustion chamber and is ignited during the compression stroke.
The result is an uncontrollable source of fuel and the diesel will run away. You will not be able to shut it off and the engine usually destroys itself as RPMs get way off scale - up to 5000, by the way!
The only way to shut it off it to place a hard object (not your hand) over the air intake and deprive the howling monster of air. But when you hear one run away you'll probably be cowering in the cockpit in full fetal position.:laugher

Read more Diesel engine runaway - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## arf145 (Jul 25, 2007)

Just to reinforce what others have said, our 2GM20F shows the oil at the full mark with around 2 quarts.


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## Omatako (Sep 14, 2003)

Selkirk said:


> The only way to shut it off it to place a hard object (not your hand) over the air intake and deprive the howling monster of air. But when you hear one run away you'll probably be cowering in the cockpit in full fetal position.:laugher


Yes it's a relatively stressful minute that it takes to get the tools from the locker and take the air cleaner off so that you can do block the intake


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## timebandit (Sep 18, 2002)

Are you sure you are removing all the old oil during the change?


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## L124C (Oct 4, 2007)

Sanduskysailor said:


> At a diesel seminar last week the mechanic said that he would rather see the oil level near the bottom mark than the top. He noted that people with Yanmars tend to overfill them which causes problems.


Why specifically Yanmar owners? I resemble that remark! The 2 quart spec in the manual is for a 7 degree installation. My boat is a Yankee and the Yanmar replaced a A4. The engine is mid ships and the prop exits about 5 feet behind the engine, literally out of the keel. It looks like the motor might be mounted steeper than 7 degrees. I wonder if that accounts for the different dipstick. My high low marks are about 3 inches apart. The example in the manual shows the marks much closer. Hard to believe some dipstick actually replaced the dipstick with the wrong dipstick, but then.....


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## L124C (Oct 4, 2007)

timebandit said:


> Are you sure you are removing all the old oil during the change?


Yes. Besides, if i wasn't, it would make the level read high, not low, right?


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

L124C said:


> Why specifically Yanmar owners? I resemble that remark! The 2 quart spec in the manual is for a 7 degree installation. My boat is a Yankee and the Yanmar replaced a A4. The engine is mid ships and the prop exits about 5 feet behind the engine, literally out of the keel. It looks like the motor might be mounted steeper than 7 degrees. I wonder if that accounts for the different dipstick. My high low marks are about 3 inches apart. The example in the manual shows the marks much closer. Hard to believe some dipstick actually replaced the dipstick with the wrong dipstick, but then.....


You've got the wrong dipstick.

The high/low marks should be about 3/4" apart, or thereabouts -- no more than 1".

Somebody else in your marina must have a 2GM. Borrow their dipstick and re-calibrate yours.


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## timebandit (Sep 18, 2002)

Yep

Sorry I read the post wrong.

Is there a part number on the blade of the dipstick so that you can check it is the correct one?



L124C said:


> Yes. Besides, if i wasn't, it would make the level read high, not low, right?


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## L124C (Oct 4, 2007)

*Got an answer!*

Emailed a Yanmar service/training center in NJ w/ pictures of the motor installation and the dipstick. Here is their response: 
"It is our recommendation that you fill the crankcase oil to the "Full"
mark on the dipstick. This will give you correct lubrication under all
conditions and engine angles."
This makes sense to me so I'm going with it. The range of opinions I received was amazing, including one from Yanmar that made no sense at all. BTW, the dipsticks on Yanmar 2GM's differ. I have a dock mate who has the same motor and dipstick I do (2 1/2" between high and low marks). His motor is mounted with a mere 3 degree angle, compared to mine at 10 degrees. So not all are 3/4" apart.


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## L124C (Oct 4, 2007)

*Got an answer!*

Emailed a Yanmar service/training center in NJ w/ pictures of the motor installation and the dipstick. Here is their response: 
"It is our recommendation that you fill the crankcase oil to the "Full"
mark on the dipstick. This will give you correct lubrication under all
conditions and engine angles."
This makes sense to me so I'm going with it. The range of opinions I received was amazing, including one from Yanmar that made no sense at all. BTW, the dipsticks on Yanmar 2GM's differ. I have a dock mate who has the same motor and dipstick I do (2 1/2" between high and low marks). His motor is mounted with a mere 3 degree angle, compared to mine at 10 degrees. So, not all are 3/4" apart.


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

L124C said:


> Emailed a Yanmar service/training center in NJ w/ pictures of the motor installation and the dipstick. Here is their response:
> "It is our recommendation that you fill the crankcase oil to the "Full"
> mark on the dipstick. This will give you correct lubrication under all
> conditions and engine angles."
> This makes sense to me so I'm going with it. The range of opinions I received was amazing, including one from Yanmar that made no sense at all. BTW, the dipsticks on Yanmar 2GM's differ. I have a dock mate who has the same motor and dipstick I do (2 1/2" between high and low marks). His motor is mounted with a mere 3 degree angle, compared to mine at 10 degrees. So, not all are 3/4" apart.


That is interesting.

Would you care to share the advice you received from Yanmar?

Also, according to my Service Manual, the 2 qt oil capacity for the 2GM is for an engine installed with an angle between 8 and 15 degrees.

It makes sense that there could be more than one dipstick for the same engine, depending on installation angle. But I would have thought that any variation in dipstick was to allow for a correct reading of the oil level based on installation angle, rather than for a different quantity of oil.

Another possibility is that you have a larger/deeper oil pan that allows for a greater lubricating oil reserve. I've never seen that mentioned in my Yanmar documentation, but I know Betamarine has something similar....


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## L124C (Oct 4, 2007)

JohnRPollard said:


> That is interesting.
> 
> Would you care to share the advice you received from Yanmar?
> 
> ...


When someone in this thread said "why not contact Yanmar?" I felt silly. Why didn't I think of that?! It's funny, but because the boat builder is long out of business, I'm not used to thinking in those terms with regard to the boat!
Anyway, I emailed Yanmar and estimated a 15 degree installation. When I actually measured it later, it turned out to be 10. In an case, Yanmar stated 15 degrees was the absolute maximun installation angle. Ironically, they then stated that if two quarts worked for the previous owners, they would advise me to do the same. Not very scientific! I expected them to say something like; "a 15 degree installation requires __ liters of oil. As I stated in an earlier post, my manual specifies a little over two quarts for a 7 degree installation. But yes, Yanmar must use different oil pans which is fine with me. A larger oil reservoir is better as far as I'm concerned. It's just strange it's not reflected in my manual which looks original. According to the surveyor that referred me to the place in NJ, they have probably seen every type of Yanmar installation ever done. They apparently didn't think the dipstick was unusual. Just goes to show - can't believe everything you read!


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## codmander (May 4, 2006)

probly motor angle 8% best 15% max,,, could change your stick reading no matter 2 quarts for that motor than again took me a week just to find the dam dip stick .............(((outboard guy)))


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

I suppose Yanmar was repeating the engineering specs for the engine, which say 2 qts oil for an installation up to 15 degrees inclination.

Unless I could ABSOLUTELY confirm that I had a larger/deeper oil pan, or some other modification to the oil reserve capacity, I would be very reluctant to deviate from the manufacturer's spec.

[Incidentally, my manual indicates that when full-up, the oil should register somewhere _between_ the bottom and top marks on the dipstick. It does not say that it should register at the top of the dipstick. This may be how they account for variations in installation angles.]


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## L124C (Oct 4, 2007)

JohnRPollard said:


> I suppose Yanmar was repeating the engineering specs for the engine, which say 2 qts oil for an installation up to 15 degrees inclination.
> 
> Unless I could ABSOLUTELY confirm that I had a larger/deeper oil pan, or some other modification to the oil reserve capacity, I would be very reluctant to deviate from the manufacturer's spec.
> 
> [Incidentally, my manual indicates that when full-up, the oil should register somewhere _between_ the bottom and top marks on the dipstick. It does not say that it should register at the top of the dipstick. This may be how they account for variations in installation angles.]


No...Yanmar was indicating they were not very comfortable with a 15 degree installation. Hence the term "absolute maximum" installation angle. Of course, this wasn't the issue. The motor has been installed and functioning for over 20 years (two of which, the PO's owned it, PPO is dead). I can read a manual, and MY manual states: "The oil level (2.0 liters) should correspond to UPPER mark on the dipstick, with an installation angle of 7 degrees." Given the discrepancy with my dipstick, this begs the question; how much for a steeper installation? Which, Yanmar choose not to answer. They also completely ignored the discrepancy with the dipstick. Given that Yanmar acknowledge an extreme installation angle, I would have thought they would either make a suggestion or, say "we suggest you consult your local Yanmar dealer". NOT; If it worked for the previous owners, go with that! Thats really lame!
The place in NJ sees actual installations and gave me a straight forward opinion in response to the question I asked. I feel comfortable with that.


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

L124C said:


> No...Yanmar was indicating they were not very comfortable with a 15 degree installation. Hence the term "absolute maximum" installation angle. Of course, this wasn't the issue. The motor has been installed and functioning for over 20 years (two of which, the PO's owned it, PPO is dead). I can read a manual, and MY manual states: "The oil level (2.0 liters) should correspond to UPPER mark on the dipstick, with an installation angle of 7 degrees." Given the discrepancy with my dipstick, this begs the question; how much for a steeper installation? Which, Yanmar choose not to answer. They also completely ignored the discrepancy with the dipstick. Given that Yanmar acknowledge an extreme installation angle, I would have thought they would either make a suggestion or, say "we suggest you consult your local Yanmar dealer". NOT; If it worked for the previous owners, go with that! Thats really lame!
> The place in NJ sees actual installations and gave me a straight forward opinion in response to the question I asked. I feel comfortable with that.


L,

The reason I and others are concerned about disregarding the manufacturer's engine spec and adding an extra quart of oil is because doing so goes against a common understanding that overfilling an oil reserve can cause serious damage to the engine. But it sounds like you feel you got the best info from a reputable source, so I won't belabor that point. SailNet has lots of good amateur advice, but that only goes so far and in your case I would certainly defer to the experts.

You know what would be very helpful in a situation like this? Wouldn't it be great if we could get a highly knowledgeable Yanmar rep to come over and review a thread on SailNet, and offer up some solid advice from which everyone could benefit? Maybe someone from Mack Boring?

[P.S. As for the manual advice on oil level, I assume you are referring to the Yanmar "Operation Manual" ? My mention of variability on the dipstick readings was in reference to information contained in the Yanmar "*Service* Manual". This is a different publication which is the manual used by service reps/techs. It's much more comprehensive than the basic "Operation Manual", full of exploded views and parts schedules, etc, including the transmission. Very handy to have if you own one of these Yanmars! But, like all the Yanmar manuals, it still has a few rough patches that result in seemingly conflicting info.]


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