water in oil

Noticed water in oil about 5 miles from dock, puked up chocolate milk through pcv valve all over engine, accessed situation and decided to run it back and see waht happened. had good oil pressure and cool temp. made it back no problem, ran 3k rpm and kept checking and didn't puke any more. Got back home and drained all oil out, about 8 quarts after adding 3 quarts of oil and 1 pint of engine flush. Anybody have any ideas why or how im getting water in the oil? update on over heating... was missing a gromet between the tubes from lower and upper outdrive, was sucking air and exhaust causing the over heating..

Re: water in oil

You?ve overheated the motor too? The first thing I?d look for is a blown head gasket.

Re: water in oil

Over heated to what temp? Is any paint bubbled up on the exhaust elbows?
What size engine?
If the 8 qts. is after adding 3 + a pint, assuming you had 5 in it to begin with would be accurate assuming it is not a 4 cyl.

Why did you add 3 qts. to the engine? What was the condition of the oil you drained? Was it milky? Clean?
What type and how old is the engine?
In older engines it is not uncommon to get condensation build up in the dip stick tube and valve and hoses. It could be gas and not water at all. Usually caused by blow by.
Bad intake gasket or worn valves are a possibility.
There may be more to this that could be traced back to the initial over heat.

Re: water in oil

The motor is a 1988 omc 4.3 I had troubles with it getting hot in the past but always shut it down before it got to 200. Last night when i got it home I started draining the oil while it was still warm, I removed about 3 quarts and it was very milki, light brownish, but very oily texture. I added 3 new quarts of oil and 1 pint of amsoil flush just to flush out the bad mixture. I first noticed the problem when I looked in the engine compartment and noticed the oil mixture blew out through the pcv valve on the valve cover all over the engine compartment. This mixture is very thick. I did notice last week after boating that there was a little more oil on the dipstick than the full mark but didn't think twice. My goal is to drain all oil out and flush motor, fill with new oil, run it and check closely. Thanks

Re: water in oil

I doubt a head gasket would ever let that much water past the pistons.
Cracked block would be my bet...

Re: water in oil

there isn't any water coming from the block though. I've had this boat out 3 times last week and no problems, runs good.

Re: water in oil

Blocks can be cracked inside as well as outside.

Re: water in oil

If it was a head gasket i doubt it would run good...more of a reason to suspect the block.

Re: water in oil

oh boy.. it does have a little skip but i thought it was wires or something

Re: water in oil

im having a hard time removing the old oil from the crankcase, i have an electric pump but it dies out when trying to suck the oil out, too thick i guess. I want to pull the intake and heads to check for possible head gasket failure. I contacted the previous owner and he said that a mechanic thought that the motor had a cracked head but he never did anything about it. Would a cracked head give me these problems? I have an extra set of heads from a 1990 motor and could replace them but a little hesitant because im not sure about setting the rockers, are they self adjusting or do you need to adjust each one? So, if anybody knows a secret on how to remove the old thick oil, please let me know.. thanks

Marine Head Gasket Vs. Regular Head Gasket

Marine Head Gasket Vs. Regular Head Gasket

Hello talking about head gaskets, i had the same problem with a 4.3 GL VOLVO PENTA it is a gm 4.3 vortec engine.

I had to do a overhall and change all the gaskets but when it came to the head cylinder gasket i didnt find any marine head gasket. So i went and bought a head gast for a regular 4.3 v6 chevrolet blazer.

I wanted to know what is the difference between a marine head gasket and a regular car head gasket set?

I allready bought the regular head gasket but for some reason the mechanic tells me its dangerous to put a regular one! the marine ones are difficult to order where i am!

can anyone help me?????

Re: water in oil

I pulled the spark plugs and bumped the motor, full of water on port side, same side the previous owner said he thought the head was cracked. I guess I will pull the head and inspect the gasket, head and block for cracks.

Re: water in oil

Not sure if this is your problem, but I'll tell you what fixed my chocolate milky oil.

I had a Kohler Marine Generator that kept breaking valve springs. I had to change them every season. There was always water present in the valve spring area. I rebuilt the motor, thinking that it would fix all my problems, but there was still water present. After troubleshooting, I finally noticed that the thermostat was stuck open. The engine was running cool (too cool). The difference between the internal and external temp was causing massive condensation. This was not just a little bit. After 5 hours of running, the dipstick showed about 1/4 quart more in the crankcase and it looked like chocolate milk. After changing the thermostat (I even went with a little hotter one), the problem disappeared.

As a side-note, when I had the problem, I was using Amsoil. I never noticed any oil in the crankcase. I later found out that the presence of water in oil is less obvious when using synthetic oil. This is why I never noticed the water in the oil. After the rebuild, I started using the mfg recommended petroleum based oil, which is how I discovered the water (it was more apparent with the petroleum based oil). After changing the thermostat, I ran for an entire season and the oil looked like the day I put it in. It was perfect. It has been over 3 years since I changed the thermostat and I have not had a trace of water.

I'm not saying that amsoil caused the problem, but it was less obvious with amsoil than with petroleum oil.

I found the answer to my problem when reading an article about the need for marine engines to come to temperature. Short runs cause condensation and without the motor reaching temp, it does not have a chance to burn off any moisture.

Hope this helps.

Re: water in oil

A block that is cracked does not have to show water coming from the "outside" of the block and if that were the case, you would not have water in the oil. An internal crack or a blown head gasket is what results in water getting "inside" the engine. The water passes from the water jacket through the internal crack and then into the oil pan. A cracked head or blown head gasket can also cause overheating since the very hot combustion gases get into the water jacket preventing proper cooling. You have lots of investigation to do. Start by removing the spark plugs. If you find one or two that look like brand new and others rather normal dark tan, you have found the problem. No! -- new plugs is not the answer. You merely found the cylinder(s) related to the problem.

Worn valves or even a leaky or broken valve will not let water into the oil pan. Block or head cracks, blown head gaskets or other cooling system leaks do that.