Oil leaking on 5hp evinrude 4 stroke

So here is the deal. Last weekend I picked up a 1999 evinrude 5hp 4 stroke that looked brand new inside and out. It runs great and pumps water strong. The engine does not over heat or loose power when running. I started to notice that when idling there was what looked to be oil or gas in the water around the outboard. And after running for a long time at a fast speed I noticed an odd smell from the motor and a blueish smoke coming from the exhaust. I checked the inside the engine and found that there was oil laying around inside the engine compartment. The engine oil level went down a little bit, but not drastically. I did notice that when I first got the engine the oil level was high but not overflowing. It looks as if the oil is dripping down to where the bottom pieces of plastic cowling meets the lower unit. I really do not know what is going on, but was wondering if anyone knows what I should do.

has the motor been properly broken-in? i hope it was.
but either way, smoke on the exhaust of any 4-stroke engine is not good.

I have no experience with 4-stroke outboards, but i've worked with many new inboard and motorcycle engines, the most common cause of oil leak on a new motor is having too much oil. the oil pressure will build up as rpm rises, causing the oil to eventually find a way out to relieve pressure. smoke from the exhaust means that some oil found it's way to the combustion chamber. this should dry out as you run the motor. but first, you have to clean or replace the plugs.
to stop the leaking gasket, try to tighten the bolts (do not exceed recommended torque). if that doesn't work, you might have to replace gasket.

an engine with the correct amount of oil will not only be leak free, it will also put out more power.


about the oil on the water, running at idle is not supposed to make the oil leak, so you might want to check the lower unit for a signs of any leak. you might also check the gear oil for water contamination.

I think the smoke from the exhaust is from this... After running for a while, enough oil has split into the inside of the motor that some got inside the air filter which leads to the carb,,, which means it will be combusted. As far as the gear oil, it is fine I have checked that. One concern of mine is that it was not broken in properly and some of the engine parts have set and now there is a leak

The answer may be simple. Chances are you laid the engine down on the wrong side whenyou took possesion of it. Owners manual states which side to lay it on and which side not to. If laid on the wrong side oil migrates and leaks from the engine. I don't have the manual to tell you which side so you will have to look that up yourself.