water in my oil out of no where! help please

sampleofme

Cadet
Joined
Jun 24, 2012
Messages
13
So here we go ive wanted a boat for aslong as i can remember i did some trading and i ended up with a 1984 bayliner Santiago its and inboard/outboard with a 170 hp mercury 4 cylinder! now i dont know alot about boats so bare with me here! i had my boss come over cause he is a big boat guy he pointed out a few small things that i needed to fix which i did one of them was a big round tube on the bottom of the motor was leaking so i replaced the gaskets and it stopped leaking ive been running it at my house getting it tuned up for the summer and i have been using the ears that go over the lower unit when ive had it running!! now for my problem i took it out yesturday ran it for about ten minutes desided to stop and check everything out just to be safe and i took the cover off the motor and there was steam coming out of the air cleaner so i shut it down checked the oil and guess what i had water in my oil!!! why can i run it at my house and not get any water in the oil but as soon as i put it in the river i get water?? also there is a water reservoir on the motor and it is holding water so if my block was cracked wouldnt it all just drian right out into the oil pan? im thinking the head gasket went out? does anyone else have any thoughts or ideas???



thanks bryan
 

Chaka

Cadet
Joined
Jun 23, 2012
Messages
6
Re: water in my oil out of no where! help please

Steam from the air cleaner is water in the combustion chamber(s). Water in the oil _and_ water in the cylinders does look like a head gasket. If you have a cracked block there will be water in the oil, but probably not in the cylinders / combustion area. As to why this happens on the water and not when using muffs I don't know. Maybe you were at a higher RPM on the water and the water pump pressure was higher.


Best of luck, and, out of the two, I hope it is a gasket, 'cause that's a _lot_ easier to fix!
 

sampleofme

Cadet
Joined
Jun 24, 2012
Messages
13
Re: water in my oil out of no where! help please

that was my thoughts as well!! i dont think it could be a cracked block because if it was cracked there would be no water in my resoivor and it hasnt lost any at all!!! i did take out the spark plugs today and they were all shiny and clean! as for the high revs i only got it up to 4 grand i was waiting on other people to get there so i wasnt go to fast! anyways thanks for the help!!!
 

oldman570

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Mar 25, 2011
Messages
1,615
Re: water in my oil out of no where! help please

Run a compression test then go from there. Water in the oil is a bad sign of a cracked block or head and not just a head gasket, but you might get lucky.
Oldman570
 

Chris1956

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 25, 2004
Messages
27,036
Re: water in my oil out of no where! help please

Exhaust manifolds are water cooled. When they rust out, water can enter cylinders and oil. If that motor has seen salt water, it is a real good possiblity.

You might post in I/O section as those guys are experts with that particular motor.
 
Top