1988 L-6 115hp -oil mixed with exhaust

[samw998]

Hello everyone, I just replaced my water pump in this l6 115 because it overheated and the pump was broken in pieces. After the repair I put my water wing on the motor and started. I noticed some water coming out of the gasket
on the plate over the plugs. I replaced this gasket and restarted and now I noticed the water coming out of the exhaust looked milky. When I caught some in my hands you could see little balls of oil. After I shut the engine off there was a oily film inside the prop(exhaust port) about a 1/8" thick. I also saw some water coming out around the cover plate on the left side of the motor (a few drips) HELP Please. I am a car mechanic and can't figure out where the oil is mixing with the water. Thanks for any help anyone can give.

 

[jheron]

Re: 1988 L-6 115hp -oil mixed with exhaust

She is ingesting water. Could be 1 of 2 thing: First replace the 2 seals on the bottom of the crank. I always pack some good marine grease in between the 2 of them when I do it. If this doesn't stop it then you have a leak or hole in the inner exhaust baffle I recommend replacing both inner plates and gaskets if this is your problem.

Regards Jon

Edit: I should point out that you need to remove the power head to get at the seals on the bottom so you will also need a new bottom end gasket...

 

[samw998]

Re: 1988 L-6 115hp -oil mixed with exhaust

Thanks for the reply. Would these seals get damaged by reinstalling the lower end after water pump service or by overheating the engine. Also would it be better to start with the exhaust side since it would be a little easier and there is alresdy a slight leak on that gasket. Thanks,Sam

 

[Tadd_P]

Re: 1988 L-6 115hp -oil mixed with exhaust

could have a crack in the waterpump housing itself and its leaking water into the crankcase and has worn your bearings. Make sure you dont run that motor if you have milky white oil in that lower end or you are gonna be out a lot of $$$$

 

[emckelvy]

Re: 1988 L-6 115hp -oil mixed with exhaust

The key here is the overheating. When the motor overheated, the gaskets got fried and that's why you're seeing leakage.

You can bet that if overheating made the exhaust manifold leak externally, it's highly likely to be leaking inside, too.

You'll probably have to pull the powerhead to get the lower exhaust man bolts off. In that case you can also pull the lower bearing cap and check seals if you're so inclined. The seals are fairly exposed on your '88 so you may be able to get a good visual on them without pulling the end cap.

Pull the water jacket cover and renew that gasket, too.

While the exhaust manifold covers are off, inspect the inner port water jacket cover carefully for cracks or obvious spraying into the cylinders.

BTW, before tearing into it, you might want to run the motor on a flusher then pull and inspect all 6 spark plugs for signs of water ingestion.

HTH............ed

 

[AMD Rules]

Re: 1988 L-6 115hp -oil mixed with exhaust

I'm not entriely sold on the fact that the motor is ingesting water. Take it for a run on a lake. On muffs, you get unpredictable exhaust/water mixing that can show up as white frothy snot in the prop hub.

My suggestion would be to take it for a run on the lake, if even onyl for a few minutes to get it warmed up and cleaned out. Go back to the dock and pull the plugs. Have a look for signs of moisture on the plugs.

It is possible you have gasket issues, or water tube issues at the top or bottom that is allowing the exhaust and water to combine.

Is your telltale water stream continuous, or does it seem to fluctuate a lot (may indicate the presence of exhaust gas in the water system)?


Just my thoughts....

 

[samw998]

Re: 1988 L-6 115hp -oil mixed with exhaust

Thank you for all the replies. One more bit of info is that i did check the lower end after i saw the milky looking stuff and did not see any signs of water intrusion. I refilled the lower end and ran it another couple of minutes on the muffs. I have never ever had this oily mess while running it on muffs before so I fear the worst and may need to teardown the powerhead. Is this repair something that I can attempt at home or should I take it to the repair shop? I have never really had an outboard apart but feel confident in my mechanical abilities to try a repair. Thanks again for all the replies. Sam W