2011 Venture Lite Oil Pan Leak

[Rochjm21]

I purchased a Venture Lite last Fall to use for ice fishing. I purchased the sled from a dealer who purchased 20 of these units from a resort out west. The sled came with about 9800 miles on it and after a tune up and some TLC I had it running super smooth. I fished with it a little last winter and its been parked in the garage since. This fall I noticed a rather large puddle of oil on the floor where the sled was parked. I tore all the shrouds off and the plastic skid plate underneath but cant find a clear leak culprit. My best guess is its the oil pan gasket. I tried tightening the bolts and they are all tight and none are missing. My question is, how hard is it to pull the sub frame off the bottom and replace the oil pan gasket? If its crazy difficult/time consuming, Ill just let her buck and keep adding oil every time I fish. Thanks for any tips or suggestions.

 

[maim]

did you check the oil filter was tight and only had one o-ring on it?

 

[Rochjm21]

did you check the oil filter was tight and only had one o-ring on it?

Yes I checked that. It’s not the drain plug leaking either...

 

[maim]

is the oil tank wet by the mounting bracket? has happened on apex and vector style sleds.

 

[BACK COUNTRY YAMAHA]

it's possible that the sled was tipped over on it's side somewhere along the line and oil got into the airbox and there is a drain on the bottom of the air box where that oil could of originated from! make sure the oil breather lines to the air box are good and secure as these will generate a lot of oil in a hurry if not properly secured!

cheers!

 

[YukonMP]

I wouldn't be in too much of a hurry to tackle that job although I don't really know how big of a job it is. I'd check the spots the others have noted, wipe it down and see if you can find the leak, if there is one. In all honesty in my four years in these parts I've never seen mention of an oil pan leak.
So long as I was not adding a ridiculous amount of oil each tine I'd run with it.

 

[Mooseman]

Check the oil tank hoses, especially the lower one. My son's Phazer had a split in his lower hose. Remarkable how thin this hose is given its importance. Check the clamps too.

 

[Rochjm21]

is the oil tank wet by the mounting bracket? has happened on apex and vector style sleds.

Nope I checked there. Thanks

 

[Rochjm21]

it's possible that the sled was tipped over on it's side somewhere along the line and oil got into the airbox and there is a drain on the bottom of the air box where that oil could of originated from! make sure the oil breather lines to the air box are good and secure as these will generate a lot of oil in a hurry if not properly secured!

cheers!

It was never tipped over. Just sat in the garage all summer. I checked in the air box and there was no oil. The only thing that is wet with oil is the bottom bolts of the oil pan. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Rochjm21]

Check the oil tank hoses, especially the lower one. My son's Phazer had a split in his lower hose. Remarkable how thin this hose is given its importance. Check the clamps too.

I will check on these next. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Snorunner]

I will check on these next. Thanks for the advice.

You could have a auto shop put some dye in the oil run it till warm shut it off and look for a leak with a black light. Or these days might be cheap enough on amazon. To buy your own.

 

[Rochjm21]

I will check on these next. Thanks for the advice.

I checked these over. Looks like I’m replacing the oil pan gasket. They’re the only spot where oil collects. I’ll call around and see if somebody will do it cheap but I doubt it. Thanks for all the help.

 

[Rochjm21]

Called around on having someone do this for me and the guy told me at the very least $700. I only paid $2K for the whole sled and the gasket is a $6 part so it sounds like I’m replacing it myself. Does anyone know anything about performing this task on this machine or perhaps a phaser? My main question is if the motor has to come out or not. To me, it doesn’t look like it does. Also what type of RTV to use. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mooseman]

More than likely, the engine has to come out. No room at all to do it in place. Yamaha, of course, says to use Yamabond but I use Ultra Grey RTV.

Just be sure it's the pan as I haven't heard of a single instance of these engines leaking there. Did you check the oil cooler? It's that round thing just next to the oil filter. It could leak and dribble down to make it look like it's the pan. Clean the entire engine with brake cleaner and run it for a while to see if you can spot the leak.

 

[74Nitro]

Probably not the engine. Many Phazers had a leak where the gearbox oil transfers through the frame the the chaincase. You need to buy a grommet part #90480-11013-00
Gearbox can stay in, you just need to take apart the chaincase.