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Milky oil.....


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Morning Folks,

getting boat ready for summer, drain oil and it is milky....I understand this can be a variety of things and one of them being condensation.Here in Alberta we get massive temp fluctuations so my fingers are crossed amd hoping this is it.

i changed the oil/filter, ran for 20-30 (driveway) and oil looked fine. This morning went back out the check and it is again milky....currently draining again and will add new stuff hoping it just needs to be flushed.

Should it still be milky on the second oil change then I guess I got bigger problems...

anyone got any insight/ideas here? If I did crack my block (yes I winterized myself) what am I looking here for buget repair price?

 

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Probably shouldn't be posted in stereo section if you want to reach the maintenance peeps but here are my $.02.  

Condensation could be a cause but if you find it milky after a 2nd oil change, I'd say you have your answer.  You mentioned that you winterized yourself.  What was the process you used?  Did you drain both block plugs, exhaust manifold, raw water intake hoses, transmission cooler, j-hose and impeller housing?  Did you stick a hanger or wire into the block drain holes to make sure they weren't plugged?  Did you leave plugs out for winter or re-install.  Did you fill block with anti-freeze?

I know the manual doesn't say to fill with antifreeze and on my first two boats, I never added it but when we bought our 15' Axis, I drained all areas, put plugs back in and quickly turned the motor over as a test and so much water still came out the exhaust that now I pump antifreeze into the block.  It doesn't help your situation now, but every spring we see this issue and most don't report back after rebuilding the motor.  If your's is cracked, I would have to guess that you didn't have antifreeze and that if/when you drained the block, some rust or deposits didn't allow all the water to exit. 

Hate to hear stories like these and hopefully you get it resolved after the next oil change reports the results.

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ahopkins22LSV
2 minutes ago, wedge88 said:

Probably shouldn't be posted in stereo section if you want to reach the maintenance peeps but here are my $.02.  

...

That was my bad. Clicked the wrong section and didn't realize it.

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@wedge88 sorry did not realise it was in “stereo” section, thought Inposted in “general”, anyone know how to move it?

and yea, witerizing proceedures were essentially as you listed.

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No weird (white) smoke, temp is good, oil pressure (50psi) is good, idles fine. Will reconsile amount drained out to what was put in to see if water is getting in there. If the volumes arw different that should tell me whats up.

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ahopkins22LSV
19 minutes ago, mackie12 said:

@wedge88 sorry did not realise it was in “stereo” section, thought Inposted in “general”, anyone know how to move it?

and yea, witerizing proceedures were essentially as you listed.

You did, I meant to move it to maint / tech and selected the wrong forum. It is all good now.

 

@Woodski might have some good insight.

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So I pulled exhaust manifolds off to see if the water was coming from there (read somewhere this could be cause), ran some water thru and did not see any in the exhaust ports. Question is, do they need to be under pressure? Like plug off at hit with 60 psi type thing?

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@Mackie 12-  Good move to do a volume in v. volume out test.  Both condensation and water coming in from a crack between the water passage and pan won't show up instantly, that takes at least a cool down cycle.  Your round 2 milky fluid is probably the one to be concerned about.  Water getting down to the pan will come from:  cracked block, cracked cylinder head, and / or non sealing intake manifold gasket (at the crossover passage).  A cracked exhaust manifold, riser or riser gasket will leak down through the exhaust ports to the combustion chamber and eventually down to the pan via the ring gaps but usually that takes more than an overnight to turn the oil milky.  You should see some rust evidence if the exhaust manifold is cracked in the port pressure always helps but evidence should be there to see w/o doing that.  You probably should pull the spark plugs when you go to start again, you don't want to bend a connecting rod trying to start an engine if water is in the combustion chamber.  Spin the engine over to spit out the water, then you can start normally right after you put in the plugs.  Normally winterization block cracks demonstrate external stress (crack or core plug pushed out) but can certainly push an internal crack.

As for budget, the how you plan to do it can make a big difference?  You can go several routes - block swap (lots of tear down / assembly labor), short block swap (less labor but higher cost), long block (accessories swap, highest cost).

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@Woodski

second round oil change/drain there was about a 1/2 liter more volume, this wqs after 20/30 mins rum time.

the echaust manifolds look fine, rust free amd such.

can I pull the intake manifold and look for cracks myself, assuming that is where I would be able to see one should there be one...

if I can find said crack and either weld it or JB weld it for the summer I would be fine that.

Edited by mackie12
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@Mackie 12 - Bummer, short answer doubtful unless intake manifold gasket or the head right at that location.  If it is the block and the crack is internal, you won't be able to see it in the block valley.  If in the intake manifold or upper area, you would see milky oil left in the valley.  I would try to pressurize the coolant side of the block and with a mechanics stethoscope try to listen to where the leak would be and look to see if the pressure drops over time.  Use an automotive cooling system pressure tester to see if there is a breach.  You will have to fabricate some test parts - automotive thermostat housing to eliminate exhaust exit path so you can seal the system and cap off the water inlet at the pump (although the raw water pump 'should' seal but...).  Install the pressure test gauge and add air pressure to system, wait to see if it drops.  Hope that helps.

And yes, sometimes you can seal an external block crack with JB Weld, my buddy has done it and his boat has been fine for 10 years!  Crack was external between the core (freeze) plugs.  An internal crack, probably not the best idea, but that stuff is pretty damn good and if you simply check the oil each time it could get you through.   Before not fixing, I would do a leak down test with each piston at BDC to determine if the bores are crack free, that would be a prime location for an internal crack between adjacent bores. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

So i have the boat in the water, decided I am going to run it for a few days to see how the oil looks after a few pulls. Ran two morning ski sets, some afternoon cruising all while monitoring temp and oil pressure and all has been good! Checked oil every couple hours and it was back to normal, even in the morning after a cool down cycle.......did I dodge a bullet here?

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