TOPIC:

After my Lake Erie trip I noticed the oil level in my kicker had slightly increased in level and had a smell of gas. All last season it remained constant and it ran great the entire time at Erie where it got some pretty decent run time. When searching the net for reasons most results are cold operating temps not allowing moisture to evaporate, poor piston ring seal or a carb issue causing excessive fuel to enter the motor. I have seen this happen on other motors and the cause was a leaky fuel pump diaphragm. The fuel pump operates off of crankcase vacuum so if the diaphragm gets a small hole fuel will enter the crankcase and mix with the oil. Time will tell if that is what caused the fuel in my oil but based on the age of the motor (2006) and how well it runs I'm pretty sure the new fuel pump will fix the problem. Just sharing as I know many on here have kickers and we all at some point are running gas that has ethanol. Easy fix!!

to check fuel pump pictured above remove from motor leaving the fuel lines hooked up squeeze primer bulb until stiff

bad fuel pump will have fuel dripping or poring from the pump drive tappet when pump is bolted to engine gas will be going into the oil

thermostat are more often the cause and least likely are piston and ring problems BUT diluted fuel from either of the first two causes mentioned are most often the cause of bad pistons or rings that in most cases is the end of a cost effective life cycle of the motor
This is a good reason to check oil level daily fuel dilution if caught early is usually a easy fix can cause a early death to the motor internals if not corrected