Water in the Sump / Gray oil.

Hello,

This weekend I planned to winterise my 3.0L mercruiser in my 2000 searay 180RB. I drained the oil and the sump was full of water and very gray oil.

I have been told my a two engineers different possible causes.

1. Head gasket
3. Water pump.

I am keen to minimise the damage to the engine, I plan to oil flush the engine and recheck for Water in the oil. Q. Would this be a good course of action?

Thanking you in advance for you help.

Phil

Portsmouth England.

Re: Water in the Sump / Gray oil.

A bad water pump will not cause water in the oil, but a crack in the engine block or cylinder head would.
A cracked manifold could probably leak water into the crankcase as well probably at a much slower rate.

Good luck with it, how much water was it that came out ?

Re: Water in the Sump / Gray oil.

ouch - that's no fun. The 3.0 is a tough little motor. Something severe obvously has happened.

I also don't see how a water pump gone bad would do this. It's going to be damage along the lines suggested by windsor cobra.

Certainly getting the water out and good oil in is a start but I don't see how you can run oil through the engine. The moment you start it it will get contaminated with water again.

Maybe disconnect the water pump and ignition and crank the engine to circulate oil? Hopefully others will chime in. I would do a compression check as it might narrow down the area to investigate. Then probably pull the head off to see what you might see.

Re: Water in the Sump / Gray oil.

Thank you chaps that is great advice, I will give that a go.

Regards

Phil

Re: Water in the Sump / Gray oil.

This weekend I planned to winterise my 3.0L mercruiser

Click to expand...

Ayuh,... Sounds like you're alittle Late,.... Has it been Below Freezing where you are,..??
My guess is, it was where the boat is...
Is the water in it Saltwater, or Freshwater,..??