1990 25 HP Mariner - exhaust spitting water?

[BigEdV]

OK so I have two questions - First I was getting the boat ready for winter (only had the boat a few months so this is my first time). I had the boat running in the back yard, in a pail of water to run the fuel out of it and I noticed that the exhaust ports had some water spiting out with the exhaust. It is not a stream just spits some water out. I have a great stream from the "pee hole" so I think that is fine just not sure if the water spitting out the exhaust ports is normal or something I should be concerned with.
Second when I drained the lower unit there was some of oil was a little cloudy. I have ready that water in the oil will be milky or coffee with cream looking. I would not say mine was milky or coffee with cream but not sure if the little cloudy should be something to worry about. I did have the impeller changed and new gaskets installed earlier this year before I took it out and the lower unit oil was changed at that time.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[redjmp]

Re: 1990 25 HP Mariner - exhaust spitting water?

Water coming out the exhaust is normal. Oil that gets a little cloudy is nothing to be alarmed about so long as it gets changed at the end of the season. When it starts to get milky thats when you need to start thinking about replacing the seals in the lower unit.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: 1990 25 HP Mariner - exhaust spitting water?

Cloudy oil could just be air mixed in it.Drain the oil and let it set in a container that is clean.After a couple of hours see if the cloudy has gone away.If not the cloudy is probably water and it needs to be attended to NOW not after the season has ended.Or the season might end sooner than you think.Any water can cost you a lower unit.J

 

[redjmp]

Re: 1990 25 HP Mariner - exhaust spitting water?

The chances that the tiny amount of water in your oil which you said was not milky, only some was slighly cloudy, is negligible imho. I've gone through a dozen or so outboards and none of then drained clean and clear and I didn't necessarily change the oil annualy on most of them and never had a problem. To put it in perspective, my first outboard was a 1965 merc 65hp 4 cyl. It ran like champ but the leg always seemed to be dripping a gray sludge. I first asked a boating friend what he thought and he said it was probably just unburnt oil from the exhaust mixing with water and oozing down the leg slowly while it was parked with leg down. Well when I finally got a pump and went to change the oil I was shocked to see a pint of water come out of my lower unit before a heavy cream followed! I ran it for a few months before checking and who knows how long it was like that. Well it turned out that the propshafts on those old mercs were just regular steel and my shaft seal had worn a groove so deep into it that even a new seal would not fix the leak. So I had not much choice but to keep adding oil after every outing. Every time, at least a cup of water would come out before any 'oil'. And after a year of that I heard some old timer say they just used to fill them full of grease so I did that and it helped keep most of the water out. I ran that motor on 2 different boats for over 3 seasons without any other lower unit issues and it still ran strong when I sold it.

 

[BigEdV]

Re: 1990 25 HP Mariner - exhaust spitting water?

Thanks for your advice. Since she is away for the winter I will not be able to do the glass jar test until next year. Think it may have just been air since I ran the motor for about 10 minutes and it only sat for about 30 minutes before draining the oil. Either way I plan on taking it out a few times next spring and do the glass test to see if there is any water. Thanks again