Milky oil in cylinders '98 90hp force

[A.Hoj]

Been having some power issues and after searching though posts and inspecting the plugs I figured I had water in the cylinders. Well I took the head cover off and sure enough all 3 were all full of milky oil. The head gasket was in bad shape, but the metal rings looked ok still. I celaned up the head cover real good, smothed it out on emery cloth and then checked it with a staight edge and feel gauge and it is not warped. Got a new Gasket today and put it on, re-tourqed everything properly, ran it for a while, and when I checked the plugs they were milky still, ARGH! So Should I assume that it is probably coming thought the exhaust gaskets? I don't want to take this apart and have replace the gaskets on that too unless it's the next logical step. I've included some pictures from when I took the head cover off. Also does anyone have a source online to get those exhaust gaskets?

Thanks!

 

[A.Hoj]

Re: Milky oil in cylinders '98 90hp force

OK well my situation went from bad to worse! Just started to take off the exhaust plate and borke off almost every bolt. The previous owner probably let this sit in the saltwater and never flushed it. ever bolt is completely rusted and covered in salt. so now Im going to have to take the whole motor apart and re-drill and tap all the bolt holes. Any help with taking the motor out would be appreciated. is it possible to just take the 8 bolts off the bottom on the leg and the 4 inside the pan and pull it off? I dont want to take the powerhead apart if I dont have to but to get to the lower bolt holes in the exhaust manifold I wil have to rais the engine up about 6 inches.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Milky oil in cylinders '98 90hp force

I think you need to remove the lower cowl first to access some of the bolts. There should be 10 of them: Six on the cylinder side of the block and four on the front cover side.

And yes, you really need to remove the powerhead to do a good job, so bite the bullet.

As for the exhaust bolts: You can drill them out and not worry about threads. Simply use a 3/16 drill and drill the bosses deeper then tap 1/4-20 deeper and use longer screws. Just be sure to be accurate enough drilling out the old screws to leave enough meat on the bosses for the gasket to seal.

Hint: If you bolt back the cover using the good screws then drive a 5/16 roll pin into the remaining holes, It is 3/16 inside diameter and will guide the drill bit straight to drill out the busted screws. Spend the money and buy a cobalt steel drill bit. Not the brand Kobalt, but cobalt steel. They work best. Sometimes, if the gods are happy and you are lucky, the remaining threads will spiral out of the holes if you grab the ends with a needle nose. No, really, it happened once or twice to me!

 

[droach77]

Re: Milky oil in cylinders '98 90hp force

Good luck i have the same exact motor and just replaced every gasket on the thing and ofcourse broke off 9 bolts on the exhaust plate. Take your time and use good drill bits, i used titanium and cobalt steel bits. BTW i just got it back together yesterday, it was fun lol.

 

[A.Hoj]

Re: Milky oil in cylinders '98 90hp force

Thanks guys...I got the top end out of the motor off pretty quick by myself and have it on the workbench already. Bought a drill and tap today and have three done already (out of 15 that busted) going pretty smooth so far. about 10 min per bolt to drill and re-tap.

What type of bolts should I get to replace the 1/4-20 originals, and where? they look like a brass color on the outside but SS under the outer-coating? I found the OEM replacements, but they are only 1.25" long.

 

[A.Hoj]

Re: Milky oil in cylinders '98 90hp force

Droach...that looks familiar what type of bolts did you use to replace the busted ones?

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Milky oil in cylinders '98 90hp force

The original bolts are steel, probably grade 5. Because there is usually some sort of water weepage around the gaskets, they usually rust and the aluminum corrodes. Even though there is potential for galvanic reaction, I like to replace them with stainless, slathered with anti-seize to prevent metal to metal electrolic contact.

I also like to use plain washers under them. You can use #12 washers instead of 1/4 and they will slide over the bolt yet the O.D. is much smaller. Looks neater.

 

[droach77]

Re: Milky oil in cylinders '98 90hp force

I just used oem replacements because iwas not sure about a seperate washer and i know i m not taking it apart again. You might want to find out about the head bolts because you have to do the strech method to retorque, again i just got oem replacements ands torqued per the manual because i was not sure about stainless bolt streching , i m sure someone else might have a better solution. Again good luck.

 

[A.Hoj]

Re: Milky oil in cylinders '98 90hp force

Thanks again for the advice. Got half of them re-tapped so far. The book says that 1/4-20 bolts should be torqued to 70 inch pounds, is this right for those exhaust cover botls? Thats only 5.83 foot pounds. Seems l a little light to me. Also should I get some gasket sealer like permatex ultra black and put a thin coat all around where the inner gasket meets the head? Or will the gasket alone make a perfect seal?

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Milky oil in cylinders '98 90hp force

That is correct, 70 inch pounds. Remember that a 1/4 20 bolt only has a 3/16 (roughly) shank under the threads. Also remember that you will probably retap to about 50% thread depth--which develops at least 75-80% torquing strength. These two factors combined mean it is easy to either twist off even a new bolt or strip the threads.

The stock gaskets usually come with an applied sealer that sets upon tightening. If aftermarket gaskets don't have it, a thin coating of Permatex red or gasket varnish couldn't hurt

If 70 inch pounds seems light, consider that head bolts are torqued to 225 inch pounds which is only about 20-21 foot pounds and they take all combustion pressures. case bolts are torqued to the standard value listed for 3/8 X16 bolts, same as value for 3/8 head bolts listed in Clymers. These are standard torque values for specific size fasteners.

BTW: If you need head bolts, you can buy grade 8 at any Fastenal and they are not all that expensive. I think I paid 10 bucks for 25 3/8-16 X 2 1/2.

 

[A.Hoj]

Re: Milky oil in cylinders '98 90hp force

well I got the motor back together after a lot of work. Fired right up as always, but still got water in the cylinders!!ARGH.

Not sure what is going on. I replaced the head gasket, all of the exhaust gaskets, and the lower gasket where the motor bolts to the leg. Could the block be cracked somewhere?

Any other ideas would help, I'm extreemly frustrated at this point. Really don't want to take it to someone. Is there a way to pressure test the block for cracks without pulling the powerhead all apart?

Thanks

 

[bentle]

Re: Milky oil in cylinders '98 90hp force

I believe a simple compression test on each cylinder will give you the answers you
are seeking. Make sure you ground your spark plug wires to the block though.

 

[A.Hoj]

Re: Milky oil in cylinders '98 90hp force

Just want to say thanks for all the help. I think I solved the final issue. I took the carbs off once again to re-check everything and the lower carb needle was so jammed I couldn't even blow though the inlet tube. I have new ones coming in. I guess these things get messed up pretty quick with the ethanol in our gas. I knew it was a fuel issue just never had the needles stick like that before when I inspected them. Anyway thanks again.