milky oil - Maxum Boat Owners Club

scoutonwater · 06-24-2014, 04:04 AM

As we go through life we eventually come upon something we have never encountered. That happened to me this weekend. Please bear with me as I try my best to explain my problem.

I bought my 1800sr back in November 2006 and it's a 2000 model year. I've never had any problems with the boat, only bad gas on the first tank. Every year I change all the fluids (engine oil, outdrive, etc.). Run it on muffs to make sure everything is okay every time. She has been a great boat with a lot of trouble free enjoyment. But she hasn't seen much use in the last 4 years due to family work conflicts and the like. Prior to this past weekend the last time she was sitting on the water was May 2012. I pulled her 2400 miles across the country in February looking forward to finally being able to enjoy her like she should with such a variety of lakes here in Kentucky.

I changed the oil and outdrive fluid in CA last October simply because it had been in the engine for so long. So on saturday I started my preparations for getting her on the water. Along with all my other processes, I hooked her up to the muffs and ran her for about 20 minutes to make sure everything was good. No leaks, everything working correctly, no overheating, all systems were normal. When I shut her off, the oil was clean, no milkyness at all.

Fast forward to the lake. We spent about 3 hours driving around, seeing the sites, enjoying the day. After about 3 hours on the lake a storm blew in and caught us by surprise. Even got some hail. The engine died while I had the sunpad up trying to get the bimini out and up to prevent everything from getting soaked. She didn't want to start so i pulled the engine shroud off and saw milky residue coming from the valve cover breather tubes right onto the flame arrestor. Not good!!

This is the thing I've never experienced before, or even knew someone who had the same problem. I'm totally in the dark when it comes to having water get into the oil. I'm in the process of changing the oil for the second time trying to get all the funk out, and here's my question:

How long does it take for water in the oil to foam it up into a milky paste? Could it be that water got into it during the rain storm while I had the sunpad up? Or is it something far worse? Like overheating and causing an intake gasket leak? I've never known anyone where this has happened so I don't know the science behind it. I don't know how long the process takes or anything. I know there's questions to be answered so if I haven't given you enough details just ask away and I'll answer them all. Thanks in advance for any insight.

jrsick · 06-24-2014, 10:57 AM

Scout, my first thought is that you have a bad manifold or head gasket. This is a fairly common problem and there is good info on this site for you. I recommend doing a search for "manifold", "milky oil", and "water in oil" and you'll see what I mean. Those posts have detailed info that should help you understand what's happening.

scoutonwater · 06-24-2014, 11:33 AM

I was hoping that it's not the manifold gasket leaking, that's why I asked how long would it take to affect the oil. I don't think anyone has ever had it this bad. Any more thoughts?

mmwjr · 06-24-2014, 11:53 AM

scout I am affraid it is much worse than rain water. Raw water is getting into the oil to the point the system is overfilling beside breaking down the oil.

The sources range from bad exhaust manifolds/elbows, leaking intake gasket, blown head gasket, and cracks (head or block)

I recommend changing the oil and then test the engines compression also inspect the exhaust system.

What engine (4.3) do you have and how many hours?

scoutonwater · 06-24-2014, 12:18 PM

4.3 and I don't know about the hours. An hour gauge was never installed. I can tell you that less than 5 gallons of fuel have been used each year for the past 4 years.

mmwjr · 06-24-2014, 03:55 PM

OK so very low hours. None the less I still recommend what I stated in my first post.

Baby Blue · 06-25-2014, 04:59 PM

I am curious... what did the mechanic find out?
may help others here.
thanks,
BB

scoutonwater · 06-26-2014, 03:21 PM

Haven't heard anything yet. My wife dropped it off while I was at work. I asked her what he said and her reply...."that's pretty bad. That's the worst I've seen". It's in the qeue, apparantly they will flush the oil/water out immediately to stop any rust from forming but it may have to wait till next week before they can find out the root cause.

I'm hoping that 26 months of no use has caused some gaskets/seals to fail when pressurized on the lake vs. on the muffs. But whatever the cause I'll be sure to spread the news, good or bad.

scoutonwater · 07-13-2014, 11:59 AM

So the verdict is in. Cracked block in the valley behind the lifters. Now I have to learn all I can about small/long blocks and figure out the most economical option. The repair shop quoted $4K. They may be a little more desperate for work in January, and that might work in my favor to bring down the costs. Any way you look at it, my season is over.

mmwjr · 07-13-2014, 12:55 PM

Bummer

A few years back a friend of mine had to repower with a rebuilt long block 5.7 at the cost of $5K including installation.

Well with the Polar Vortex dropping in again maybe you can convince them it's winter at get a lower rate now

oneradride · 07-21-2014, 06:48 PM

I feel for you... been there/done that and it sucked!! http://www.maxumownersclub.com/forum...r-a-5-7L-Alpha

You can get it done for a little over 2k if you are handy enough to do it yourself... (and that's a 5.7)

scoutonwater · 07-22-2014, 02:08 PM

I'm curious as to the tube w/shutoff handle coming out of the bottom of the block just above the oil pan. Something to do with winterizing?

oneradride · 07-22-2014, 02:22 PM

Yep, they are ball valves and make it a snap to get to the lower block drains around the exhaust and everything else down there. Initially there was some concern about the “extra weight” just kind of hanging there… I can tell you will 100% honest they have been there for over 3 years without issue. The only problem I had was after running in the sandy river here all summer 1 side was clogged a little. A coat hanger opened it right up

biggerseagar · 07-22-2014, 04:04 PM

FYI .....when winterizing use that coat hanger on all your drain petcocks. Where ever you run you might have some sediment clogging those petcocks and unless you give it a couple pokes with the hanger to open them up you might think it has drained but has not........

mmwjr · 07-22-2014, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by biggerseagar

FYI .....when winterizing use that coat hanger on all your drain petcocks. Where ever you run you might have some sediment clogging those petcocks and unless you give it a couple pokes with the hanger to open them up you might think it has drained but has not........

+1 but I use a small screw driver

oneradride · 07-22-2014, 04:34 PM

+2 Always visually inspect to make sure an ample amount of water is coming out of each.

My process is to run it with muffs on until it’s warmed up.
Then fog the top end through the carb while it’s running until it dies. This way I know the top end is lubed and the engine is full of water.
Then I remove my plugs from the TOP working down to the bottom ball valves because gravity works. This way you can actually watch the water come out of EACH port.
Then I remove the thermostat and add a gallon of RV antifreeze where the thermostat was and watch the pink liquid also come out of the bottom open ball valves. (Paying particular attention to the right, lower hose that goes to the power steering cooler.)

scoutonwater · 07-23-2014, 11:21 AM

That's some great knowledge to spread around. Before I do a lot of searching, does anyone know how hard it is to get the 4.3 modified for that drain? Since I don't have a money tree in the back yard I'm going to take a little time, plan this out and get the best "bang for the buck" so to speak. It's been a pain trying to change the oil through the fill tube, so I'm going to try and figure out some way to incorporate a drain through the oil pan as well. I just hate thinking that some "bad" oil just can't be pulled out through the dipstick and is left behind.

I can't say it enough, the knowledge I've picked up on this site is hard to come by off-line. Thanks everyone!

mmwjr · 07-23-2014, 11:38 AM

Well if the engine is out they make a hose that attaches where the oil pan dain plug goes. The other end connects to the garboard (transom drain plug). You remove the plug and pull the hose out, uncap it and oil flow :-)

Regarding putting ball valves on the engine drains it is just a matter of getting the correct fitting, Darren should be able to tell you this as his engine and the 4.3 will have the same threads on the block.

oneradride · 07-23-2014, 12:25 PM

1/4 NPT = Galvanized Pipe Nipple 1/4 x 3

oneradride · 07-23-2014, 11:06 PM

If you use the drains make sure to “dope” them up good with marine grade sealant or tape. http://www.henkelna.com/industrial/T...ring-21396.htm

The drain thing Mike is talking about look like this - http://www.overtons.com/modperl/prod...ls.cgi?i=26163

There are several threads discussing the good and bad points about using them. Several have lost motors because they come loose and thus, the oil empties out. Several others swear by them, however almost everyone that loves them will tell you they drain slower than you can imagine. Obviously the tube can’t be that big…. because it has to fit THROUGH the boat drain hole. Just my 2 cents