 Oil Leaking / Consumption Suzuki DF 250
I have a 2006 DF250, Suzuki that has a mystery oil depletion problem. The engine (and the boat it's attached to) is in Campbell River, BC at a Suzuki dealer. Here is the rub. I have owned the engine since new (700 hours now) and it is currently 3 1/2 years old ... just out of warranty. It has always worked flawlessly - never used any oil; that is, until early July last summer. At that point it mysteriously started using / leaking oil. At first in moderate quantities, now at a rate of about 1/2 to 3/4 of a quart per hour at 4200 - 4500 rpm. It has never smoked, nor have I ever seen any oil on the engine itself. The performance of the boat (24' ACB DVR) at various rpm's seems to have degraded a little, but it could have been to a minor accumulation of barnacles and bottom growth.
The dealer is reluctant to tear the motor down as they are not sure what or where the problem is and they are concerned that they might not find the problem. The boat manufacturer and motor supplier think it could possibly be a "back to back" seal that is leaking. Apparently this would require a complete tear down and reassembly ... and it is suggested to re-ring and re-bearing at the same time. I can live with that if it solves the problem, but no one can be definative as to whether or not it will .... Yikes!!!
Does anyone have any experience with a similar problem on this engine model or series?
Thanks | 
