Oil came out like jelly

[teamtingler]

I recently bought a used 2006 boat/motor. The motor was a Mercury 90 4 stroke EFI and when I changed the oil for the first time the oil came out in clumps. Some would run out and then a clump would plop out into the oil pan. The closest I can describe it is like when you squeeze jelly out of a tube. The oil was very clean and not discolored. I'm wondering if this is common for boats after sitting all winter with low use last summer? Anyone seen this before?

[EBass]

Lower unit lube will turn white-ish when water is mixed in. I had it run out smooth then hit some thicker spots, but not jelly like.

[teamtingler]

Thanks for the response eBass. It wasn't the lower unit oil, it was the motor oil.

[fish_eat_sleep]

Probably not good. Might want to contact who ever sold you the boat. Take pictures and stuff.

Although i think you should probably warm the engine up before changing the oil. it always flows better when it has recently been at operating temp.

[EBass]

D'oh! Sorry - good luck.

[SkunkedAgain]

I did some websearching and found a few references to "lumpy" engine oil being the result of high heat, but nothing definitive or reliable. I've never seen it except if I tried to drain cold oil. Like fish_eat_sleep, I assume that you warmed the engine before draining the oil?

[teamtingler]

Good advice but I did not warm up the engine before draining the oil.

[SkunkedAgain]

I did not warm up the engine before draining the oil.

Well that could be your problem. How did it run on your test run and/or prior to changing the oil? This all might be much ado about nothing

[CAMAN]

Unless aluminum shavings were coming out with it I wouldn't be too worried about it, something probably happened to the oil over the winter. But to be on the safe side I would drain it and replace the filter, refill it with fresh stuff, take it out and run it for a while getting it up to temp and run it in all RPM ranges. Bring it home and immediately drain, replace the filter and add new oil to get the gunk flushed out. IMO, the extra cost of the oil and filter is good insurance that you got most of the bad stuff out. And maybe do the same halfway through the season just to be safe, but I don't believe it is fully necessary it just would give me peace of mind that there are no other contaminants in the oil and really the only way to be sure everything is looking good.

[FM_Mike]

If the previous owner was using 20w50 weight oil (Recommended by Mercury) and if the oil was cold when being drained that would cause the issue you see.

After the motor warmed up the oil would flow normally. The higher the viscosity of the oil, the thicker it will be during cold weather.

Mike