Water in the Oil

[danbrob]

Hi:

I have a Volvo Penta 4.3l IO in a H180 Four Winns.

I checked the oil today and noticed it was not clear as it had a haze to it and I suspect that water is getting into the oil.

Q1 - Is it a good assumption that the head gasket needs to be replaced or is there other common caused for water to get into the oil??

Q2 - Since it is the middle of the summer and we plan on using the boat for another couple of months is there anything I can do to mitigate this problem until the end of the season when I can take the boat to my marine mechanic?? I was thinking of changing the oil and filter every month until the end of the season which, for me, is another 6 - 8 weeks.

Appreciate your suggestions and feedback.

Dan

 

[quintonwatts]

Re: Water in the Oil

Hi Dan
Surprised no other responses yet. So for what my opinion is worth, here it is:
Water in oil is definitely not good. With enough water the heat of the engine may end up steam cleaning the inside of the engine and unless quick action is taken when you do get round to it there may be surface rust on many internal parts. I speak from experience.
A good way to see if there is a lot of water is to see whether the oil level is going up. If so this means you are getting an increased level of water in which if it is the case would need to be remedied ASAP.

The head gaskets are one place to look at, possibly a good place to start. I'd also check the upriser gaskets - you'll have to replace them if you are doing the head gaskets anyway. However if nothing is certain so unless it is really obvious you need to check for cracked cylinder heads, uprisers or god forbid a cracked block. The cylinder heads can be done by an enginering firm, the uprisers I'm not sure as I never found someone who would do mine. The block is a not worth contemplating at this stage.

Ref when to deal with the problem...I'd do it straight away. It is better to miss a few weeks of one season and have a boat the following one...again I speak from the experience of missing a whole year of boating due to ingression of water and a complacent attitude. I ended up with a new short block, gaskets and risers. Ouch.

 

[danbrob]

Re: Water in the Oil

Thanks very much for your reply. I will check the oil level when I get to the cottage this weekend. I have not seen any steam coming from the exhaust as of yet.

Thanks again for your feedback. I had the same experience with a vehicle so I will be looking after it immediately so I don't end up with a bigger repair bill.

Cheers,

 

[rock doc]

Re: Water in the Oil

I just went through this and it is likely ok. Apparently headgaskets issues in the 4.3l are rare so start with the easy stuff. Depending on the age of your risers/manifolds you may want to replace them.

1) Extract some oil from the bottom of your oil pan. If it is grey you have a problem.
2) Pull plugs and compression test. Check for orange/rust on plugs and note cylinder #. Turn motor over to see if water in cylinder. Spay oil down cylinders.
3) Pull the riser on the side(s) showing evidence of water intrusion. Check for water/rust trail in the exhaust manifold

You will want to get any water out right away. It will be ok if you act quickly. Post pics of you findings along the way and the folks here will steer you in the right direction. This forum is amazing.

Good luck!

 

[rock doc]

Re: Water in the Oil

Here is the link to my thread where I trouble shot the source of oil in the water-it may have some helpful info. Boat works great now.


http://forums.iboats.com/mercruiser.../4-3l-mercruiser-steam-vent-lines-577696.html

 

[danbrob]

Re: Water in the Oil

Thanks for this information, I plan on changing the oil and will pull some from the bottom of the pan.

When I had the boat at the mechanic he did check the compression and found no issues but I plan on checking the risers in any case.

I will let you know how I make out.

Thanks for taking the time,

 

[danbrob]

Re: Water in the Oil

Folks, I wanted to close on this issue.

I changed the oil and filter when I was at the cottage and ran the boat for a couple of weeks. I checked the oil during that time and found no water in the oil. I followed up with the mechanic and he told me that it is possible that he never removed all of the oil when he serviced the boat!! Still does answer how water got into the oil in the first place so I will continue to monitor until the end of the season and then have the engine completely inspected.

Thanks to all who replied. Your information gave me what I needed to work this issue through.

Cheers.

 

[danbrob]

Re: Water in the Oil

Thanks for the link. I read it with interest. What was the final outcome of all your work??

 

[rock doc]

Re: Water in the Oil

The boat is still working great! Very happy so far. We have put approx 20 hours on since I replaced the manifold gaskets on both risers. Oil is dry and no steam. I owe Checkmate a beer if he ever ventures into my part of Canada.

 

[rock doc]

Re: Water in the Oil

The boat is still working great! Very happy so far. We have put approx 20 hours on since I replaced the manifold gaskets on both risers. Oil is dry and no steam. I owe 81 Checkmate a beer if he ever ventures into my part of Canada.