120 Mercruiser problem

[BillyP.]

I have a 1968 Mercruiser 120 that has gotten water in the oil. The motor has less than 10 hours on it since a complete rebuild over two summers of very little use. Both times I have drained the water out of the block, the lower unit and the intake before really cold weather hit here and was wondering this....

if the manifold had some rust holes formed (this is the original manifold) is it possible I'm sucking a little water into the motor and it going into the oil? The level doesn't rise on the dipstick, just turns milky color. Also I was wondering about the head gasket possibly, this year motor I'm assuming doesn't use torque to yield head bolts, and to be honest, I don't remember if I bought the head gasket from an automotive store or a mercruiser dealer, but the temp never went above 160* when it was running.

Thanks for any input on this.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: 120 Mercruiser problem

I'm guessin your in fresh water.The manifold if it's a 68 is probably shot.
Most people when they drain their manifolds and don't fill with antifreeze.They actually decrease the life of the manifold.The air is what rusts it fast.
Check for leaks in the manifold.
Do a compression test to see if the head gasket is leaking.
If it's a regular head gasket it won't matter if its run in fresh water.Only in salt will it screw up.J

 

[BillyP.]

Re: 120 Mercruiser problem

Yeah, it's fresh water, I'll run a compression test and see what I get

thanks