Water in oil

[joelger]

I have 2011 searay 250slx. Bought it las year with 110 hours. Used it 4 times. Went to take it out today and checked the oil and it looks like a milkshake. Clearly water in the oil. I used it on memorial day and ran it for about 3 hours. Ran great, plenty of power. No problems at all. Brought it home and parked it on the drive way. We had tons of rain and my bilge pumps did not come on (not sure why but ill deal with that later). The bilge filled up with water. About 12-14 inches. I pumped it out and started the engine and everything went fine. I did notice what seemed to be quite a bit of oil in the water that was being pumped out but i figured it was mostly just from spillage over the years.
Just before i went to launch i checked the oil and found the milk shake. I cant seem to pump it out with the oil extraction pump. It just sits there. Took a good hour the get less than a quart of the muck out. Not sure what to do from here. The boat is closed cooling and the coolant level is fine. I cant tell how much water got in because the dipstick tube is filled with foamy oil.
This boat has the catalytic converters as well.
I am thinking either the manifolds/converters/risers, or oil cooler.
Im also not sure how to get the oil out and once that is done how do i get the milk shake out?
Any thoughts are much appreciated.

 

[dubs283]

Land sinker. Remove garboard/hull plug(s) immediately after loaded onto a trailer/hauled out

Change oil/filter multiple times, replace the starter and any other electrical device/wiring that was saturated

 

[joelger]

Land sinker. Remove garboard/hull plug(s) immediately after loaded onto a trailer/hauled out

Change oil/filter multiple times, replace the starter and any other electrical device/wiring that was saturated

Boat is out of the water now. Everything is drained. It has been on the trailer since i used it last. My concern is how did the water get in there. The flooding was caused by rain water, not salt water and everything seems to be working fine.

 

[joelger]

What is land sinker and garboard?

 

[dubs283]

What is land sinker and garboard?

Boat terminology

 

[dubs283]

The water came from the sky. By leaving the hull plug in/not clearing the drain the precipitation was allowed to collect in the bilge, hence the boat sank on land

 

[dubs283]

If that's not esoteric enough wait'll someone mentions their lazarette

Binnacle is a fun one, too

 

[Scott Danforth]

Rain won't get into the motor unless the whole motor was underwater

Is this a salt water boat?
How was the boat winterized?

Most Mercruisers after 2000 have a drain hose connected to the garboard plug.

 

[joelger]

This is quite baffling to me. The boat is used on the hudson river. When i used it last i went to the statue of liberty which is salt water but generally it is used in brackish river water.
Im not a big believer in coincidence. My bilge filled with water and now there is water in my oil and oil in my bilge. For the life of me i cant imagine how water would get in unless something was open underneath like the oil pan gasket missing a piece or the dipstick tube separated from where it goes into the oil pan. (no chance as i use the dipstick tube to extract the oil and the oil is sucking out however quite slowly)
I really dont know how much water it would take to turn my oil into a milkshake but i would think quite a bit. If my headers/manifolds/converters were leaking, i would think water would have been sitting in the cylinders. Ill do a compression check but i would think the boat would not be running as usual if there was a bent connecting rod or a hole in the piston. as i said, it is close cooled so if it were a head gasket i would be low on coolant and likely have other issues from the compression getting in to the cooling system.
My disbelief in coincidence would have me thinking it had something to do with the water in the bilge, but common sense has me thinking oil cooler.
Anyone looking at this post, please reply if you have any other theories. I can diagnose a problem with a car with much success, boats not so much.

 

[joelger]

To answer that one other question. I winterized it. I ran antifreeze though the seawater cooling lines, once i was done i used the air pump to open up all of the lines and drain them. i followed mercruisers guide and did the antifreeze first just as an added measure.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Only take 2 oz of water to froth oil

Did you drain the block and manifolds before pulling Anti Freeze in? If you didn't drain, you most likely have a cracked block

Drain the water, pressure test. Should hold 15psi forever

 

[flashback]

Don't know how you winterize but will offer a story. I have a neighbor who has always winterized using the 5 gal bucket method and it's always worked for him. This past winter it didn't. If the thermostat isn't open when you feed the the cool AF it never gets to the engine..

 

[joelger]

when i winterized it i did it as i always have. I ran antifreeze with a pump through the flush fitting. I ran the antifreeze through for probably 10 - 15 minutes. When i was finished i opened up all of the drains and let everything drain from the seawater part of the cooling system. This boat has a closed cooling system.

 

[flashback]

when i winterized it i did it as i always have. I ran antifreeze with a pump through the flush fitting. I ran the antifreeze through for probably 10 - 15 minutes. When i was finished i opened up all of the drains and let everything drain from the seawater part of the cooling system. This boat has a closed cooling system.

Closed cooling is beyond my knowledge.

 

[joelger]

It was my understanding that seawater does not run through the engine itself so with closed cooling systems. I followed the manufacturers recommended procedure and ran the antifreeze through the seawater sections of the cooling system. The closed cooling section has antifreeze in it and i tested prior to storing it.

 

[Scott Danforth]

If it's closed cooled, make sure the AF is up to snuff. It's supposed to be changed every 5 years or so

I would still pressure test the system (must be drained first). Being closed cooled makes that easy

If the block passes that test, simply change oil and filter, run for 5 minutes, change oil and filter again

 

[joelger]

I have drained the coolant and tested the closed cooling system. I have a service manual and as per, i pressurized to 20 lbs. it is holding just fine. i also pressure tested both sides of the oil cooler (oil passage as well as water passage and that is holding as well. I was able to get about 2 gallons of oil out. The system hold 7 quarts. Im thinking the reason i got 2 gallons is that the oil is frothed and basically fluffy. Im sure that is water as well i imagine there is quite a bit that wont drain down in to the oil pan to be removed until i put fresh oil in it a few times.
Regarding the oil change. Does anyone see a problem with using an inexpensive oil such as quaker state or even the walmart brand once or twice until i get most of the milk shake out. Then i can put good oil in. The good stuff is 50 dollars a gallon as opposed to 20-25 dollars per gallon.
Clearly i want to get as much of the milk shake out but does it have to be pure before i use the boat? I imagine it will take quite a bit to get it all out.

 

[Bondo]

Im thinking the reason i got 2 gallons is that the oil is frothed and basically fluffy. Im sure that is water as well i imagine there is quite a bit that wont drain down in to the oil pan to be removed until i put fresh oil in it a few times.
Regarding the oil change. Does anyone see a problem with using an inexpensive oil such as quaker state or even the walmart brand once or twice until i get most of the milk shake out. Then i can put good oil in. The good stuff is 50 dollars a gallon as opposed to 20-25 dollars per gallon.
Clearly i want to get as much of the milk shake out but does it have to be pure before i use the boat? I imagine it will take quite a bit to get it all out.

Ayuh,...... No problem usin' cheaper oil,.....

Considerin' where yer at now, I'm thinkin' rain water ran down into the carb, past the rings, into the oil,....

Gettin' most of the water/ sludge out, then Run it,....
Motor heat will steam off any that's left,....

 

[joelger]

Well, i also did a compression check to rule out the head gasket unless is is bad someplace other than the cylinder seal. The compression is 140-150 in all cylinders.
When i was getting ready to take the boat after all that rain, i had to give it a good cleaning. There was tons of crap from the trees everywhere. When i opened to engine compartment the area (call it a gutter) around the opening was filthy so i hosed it out. The drains were clogged.
During the compression check i was in the engine compartment and on the starboard side in the back on top of the valve cover is a cap where to oil fill would be if it were on the other side. I removed that cap and found that it had no gasket on it. It was somewhat loose fitting. Im thinking either me from the hose or rainwater spilling over that gutter could very well have poured right on that cap and if so water would have definitely seeped in.

 

[joelger]

Just to follow up. I changed the oil 5 times before it was completely clear. I used an inexpensive 10w30 oil and after the second replacement filter i just kept draining the filter and reusing it. I would run it for about 10 minutes each time and let is sit for about 30 minutes before removing the oil. After the fifth oil change everything looked clear so i took the boat our for about an hour and ran it at a pretty steady 3500 rpm. When i got home with it i checked the oil and it is still clear as can be. impossible to see it on the dip stick. The only way i know its there is by running my finger along it.
I will run it on the river one more time for about an hour and if all is well i change the oil to the recommended quick silver oil and chalk this up to an anomaly.
Is anyone familiar with Bass Pro Shops 25w40 marine oil.? It is less than half the price.