If your oil came out milkshake......

[cliffblue]

I have struggled with this issue since I bought this boat. Every end of season oil change was milkshake, except this year. This year I went to a couple of beautiful Arkansas lakes and spent the days there running hours and hours. Ouachita and her little sister Greeson. All years previous, I would make many trips to local lakes and run a while and stop a while. Condensation is the culprit. The extended run times this year evaporated the moisture out of the oil, while before, I just didn't run long enough. This year, it looked dark just like it is supposed to. If you have similar questions about you milkshake/chocolate milk oil when you drain it, and it doesn't raise the oil level, this may be your problem. I firmly believe it is mine. Cliff

 

[thumpar]

I have never had milkshake in my boat. The only time I have had milkshake was in my 4.3l Safari van. It is not normal. You may get a little condensation in the valve cover but it should not show up in the pan.

 

[cliffblue]

Hello Thumpar
Before now, I would agree. But seeing is believing.
BUT.... I did change my manifolds this spring. Maybe???

 

[Fun Times]

What about your engine temperature? Any changes in the cooling system? Thermostat? The engine should be getting up to around 160* within 8 minutes or so after start up, idle speed....then 175* max.

 

[cliffblue]

FT,
Same stat. Holds 160 on the temp gage. Thumper, are you closed or raw water cooling? Cliff

 

[Fishermark]

Hello Thumpar
Before now, I would agree. But seeing is believing.
BUT.... I did change my manifolds this spring. Maybe???

That's by far the #1 reason you get water in your oil. I suspect that solved your problem.

 

[thumpar]

FT,
Same stat. Holds 160 on the temp gage. Thumper, are you closed or raw water cooling? Cliff

Raw water cooled.

 

[DJ Jaws]

I never understood this. How can water get into your oil from the exhaust?

 

[Fishermark]

The exhaust is water cooled and has several areas where water can enter the engine - either through a poorly installed gasket... or bad sealing at a joint... or corrosion eating up the manifold. Those are the most common causes.

 

[DJ Jaws]

I get that, but how would it get into the oil chamber?

 

[Fishermark]

Down through the cylinders - past the rings.

 

[Fishermark]

That why the first thing you do if you suspect water intrusion is to pull the spark plugs and see if they are wet - or if any water comes out of the spark plug hole.

 

[cliffblue]

Thanks for the brain storming. RA, your point is one reason I am not leaning toward manifold leakage. They were the one piece manifolds that was replace, but I also pulled the heads looking for this leak. There was absolutely no evidence of rust or leakage on any of the gasket surfaces, combustion chambers, intake or exhaust ports or lifter valley. I use the drain hose from the oil pan to drain my oil. The line had clear water in it as did one of the crankcase vent hoses that had a low p trap dip in it. Yet my old oil looked moisture free. I'm not convinced that condensation was not responsible.

 

[bruceb58]

They were the one piece manifolds that was replace,

They were likely internally leaking.

 

[Volphin]

They were likely internally leaking.

Been there too. Not a fun time.

 

[cliffblue]

Vol and Bruce. Did you have any rust in your engine from manifold water leakage?

 

[HT32BSX115]

I'm not convinced that condensation was not responsible.

It's pretty unlikely that condensation is NOT the "culprit".

There's simply not enough volume in the crankcase to produce enough liquid water to cause a visible emulsion. Have a look at the following link concerning condensation in fuel tanks......... pay particular attention to the volume mentioned and how much actual water vapor the air in that volume could hold under ideal conditions. http://www.yachtsurvey.com/myth_of_condensation_in_fuel_tanks.htm

The article speaks to fuel tanks but it really relates to a volume of air in any type of container.

Some years ago, my formerly installed OMG 460 King Kobra had riser gasket leaks on one or both sides.

Everytime I shut it down, a small amount of water would leak past the gasket, run into an open exhaust valve and into a combustion chamber.

Then if I tried to re-start the engine within 5-10 min of shutdown it would hydrolock briefly. After a couple of tries it would start and run normally.

If I let it sit for longer (30+ min), it would start normally with no problem. (After around 30 min, enough water would leak right past the rings to allow it to crank normally)

Even that amount of water never caused a visible emulsion ("milkshake") and if I ran it a lot during the day most or all the water would evaporate out.

I would say that you should carefully inspect your manifolds and possibly pressure check your cooling system to rule out block/head cracks and/or other gasket leaks.


Regards,


Rick

 

[Volphin]

Cliff, I made the awful mistake of replacing my manifolds with substandard parts while doing the top end of the engine. They were aluminum (no streaking) and tested fine using methods in the sticky section. In my case, the hairline cracks were exacerbated by heat, then they would leak after shut down... slowly until they sealed cold. When cold they acted normally. Always use quality parts. I wound up going with a SS setup that has been great, but most should just go with Merc parts.