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Topic Title: Uggh! Water in my oil
Topic Summary: So Pissed!
Created On: 05/19/2012 05:41:47 PM

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05/19/2012 05:41:47 PM
jtalberts Member Posts: 137 Joined: 11/23/2011	I had my buddy over to my boat today and he is a car guy. I was showing him the engine compartment and I noticed the port engine's dipstick was sticking out a bit. Instead of just putting it back in, I decided to pull it out and take a look. There was white milky sludge all over it. So there is water in my oil. I am a bit perplexed as to when this would occur. I winterized the engines 3 times this year. Just with all the moving and purchasing. We ran the boat for over an hour or so when putting it up on the trailer. I never really got on the throttle but the dipstick showed nice oil without issues. Even after our 30 minute run yesterday I didn't see any milky substance in the oil. We bring the boat down the river last night with a total run time of an hour. I did push the throttle harder than I did the last two times. This time we have the sludge. I am in the midst of changing the oil just hoping this might be from some sort of condensation. Fingers crossed I don't need a new engine. The starboard engine looked good from the dipstick, but I did see a bit of milkiness when I pulled the fill cap. Nothing to the extent of the port side. So lets take some bets. 1. It isn't anything big and I am ok. 2. The block is cracked and I'll need a new engine. -If so, should I just get 2 new ones? 3. Is it just the head gasket?
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05/19/2012 08:39:05 PM
stmbtwle Admiral Posts: 2142 Joined: 04/22/2003	OUCH!!! Good luck on your diagnostics! ------------------------- Willie She's a tired old barge but she's paid for! http://s71.photobucket.com/alb...p;current=ef324993.pbw
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05/19/2012 08:54:37 PM
jtalberts Member Posts: 137 Joined: 11/23/2011	After a lot of reading it could be a slew of things. Exhaust manifolds or risers, head gasket blown, or cracked head. We are changing the oil tomorrow so we will see after running it if we get more water in. If we still pull in some water, I will start with the exhaust. That seems to be the easiest way to validate. From there we can look at the head gasket.
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05/21/2012 06:11:48 AM
EastTNBoater Admiral Posts: 226 Joined: 11/27/2002	Could be a ton of things. I would pull the plugs to see if you can see water on any of them before I got all excited.
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05/21/2012 08:45:29 PM
jtalberts Member Posts: 137 Joined: 11/23/2011	I talked to the owner I bought it from. He mentioned that in the 5 years he owned the boat every spring the boat would produce that white foam after his first real running of the engine. He would change the oil and then not have the problem repeat itself the rest of the year.
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05/22/2012 05:09:30 AM
42gibson Member Posts: 144 Joined: 11/19/2010	lets hope it does'nt re-appear then. i would still keep an eye on that motor and do some looking around for the culprit, but atleast you can enjoy the upcoming holiday weekend. ------------------------- 1991 gibson 44 executive 454's norwich,ohio docked on the good ole ohio river in marietta
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05/22/2012 06:53:35 AM
stmbtwle Admiral Posts: 2142 Joined: 04/22/2003	Something is still not right, but if an oil change will "fix" it then I'd live with it and keep my fingers crossed. ------------------------- Willie She's a tired old barge but she's paid for! http://s71.photobucket.com/alb...p;current=ef324993.pbw
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05/22/2012 08:43:19 AM
EastTNBoater Admiral Posts: 226 Joined: 11/27/2002	You will eventually have to chase it down. If you do the math on the volume of air inside an engine and the amount of that air that will actually be replaced during a hot/cold cycle and the amount of water in that air that will precipitate out, it is not enough to add more than a tiny amount of water to your oil.
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05/23/2012 04:17:59 PM
FranticallyRelaxing Admiral Posts: 370 Joined: 09/10/2006	There's a big difference between milky sludge on the dipstick and water in the oil. If you have a fair amount of condensation within the engine, the dipstick is a way out, and can cause a milky residue in the tube, and on the stick. But if there's water getting into the oil from a nefarious source, the oil will also turn milky. Run the dipstick in and out several times, wipe it off real good each time. Look at the oil on the dipstick, whatever color it may be, it should be transparent. Any water will lighten the oil, making it cloudy, and/or it may have tiny bubbles. One way to test is to take some of the oil, 1/2 cup is plenty, put it in a wide shallow bowl of some sort, then put it in the freezer. If there's ANY water in it, it'll form ice crystals and float to the top of the oil... ------------------------- 1988 SkipperLiner 53x14 1995 Tracker Party Cruiser 32 for sale 2003 Chaparral 260 SSI 2000 Allegro Bus 40' DP Edited: 05/23/2012 at 04:19:06 PM by FranticallyRelaxing
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05/23/2012 05:04:03 PM
Forkliftking Member Posts: 141 Joined: 02/11/2008	Don't start the engine for one week. Then open the drain plug ,on the oil pan, 2 or 3 turns. If you have water it will settle to the bottom of the pan and drip from the loose plug.
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