Flooded Bilge. Milky oil and starter replacement.

[Spools]

Hello All! First time poster here!

I have a 1989 OMC 4.3L with Cobra drive.

I pulled the oil dipstick and found milky oil on it. After my initial panic I drained the water/oil milkshake from the engine and am prepping to clean up the inside with a few oil changes and some seafoam. I inspected the engine as best as I could and found no cracks on the exhaust manifolds or under the intake on the block. I am pretty sure this is due to the bilge flooding with water during one of 2 incidents. One was during a heavy rain while the boat was tied to the dock up north and my stepdad who had the boat at the time didn't pump out the bilge until the following morning. The 2nd being when the ignition switch was accidentally shut off while driving in rough water with the bow tipped up a bit to smooth the ride. (That one was me :facepalm

The engine gave me no indication of the milky oil and was running perfectly during its last use. It was a couple days after that that I found the milky oil. The starter has also failed since. I'm guessing due to it getting wet as well.

I'm looking at a starter from DB Electric with the reduction gear. I have heard many good things about them but I wanted to see what some of expert folks on here could tell me about them. Also any advice on other things i should be checking/replacing as far as the water/oil situation is concerned. Sorry for the long post but thanks in advance for the help!

 

[bruceb58]

If the oil reached the crankshaft, that is definitely why you got the milky oil.

 

[Spools]

Is this common for water to get in through the oil pan gasket if the bilge floods like that? I drained probably a gallon and a half of water.

 

[bruceb58]

Crankshaft seal would be the culprit although a gallon and a half is an awful lot to get through there.

 

[Spools]

Hmm. Well that's definitely getting replaced then. Im just trying to make a list of things I haven't thought of before it it goes in for winterization. I agree about the amount but the bilge sat flooded overnight. My stepdad told me when he turned on the pump the next day water shot 3ft out from the side of the boat for awhile. Not sure if that means anything but it seems to me there was way more water in there than there should have been for a lot longer than i would have liked. Any opinions on DB Electrical?

 

[Scott Danforth]

do you have the original 1-piece "bat wing" exhaust manifolds? if so, they could have failed and be leaking water into your motor.

 

[Grub54891]

That much water would not get in from a crank seal. If it did, it would leak a lot of oil when running.

 

[bruceb58]

How did you determine it was a gallon and a half?

 

[Spools]

I do have the original bat wing manifolds. If they were leaking into the motor wouldn't it not be running correctly?
Bruce: I drained the milkshake into a few empty washer fluid containers and could see the water vs. oil after it settled.

 

[bruceb58]

How many days have you been running this boat this season?
How was the boat winterized?

 

[Spools]

I had it on vacation for a week where it was run pretty much everyday. Ive only had it out twice since then for a couple hours each. Winterization I unfortunately don't know beyond what I was told by the prev. owner as I just purchased the boat in early July. It was stored indoors and he claimed it was fully winterized. The boat has been very well kept for its age and he had it since it was new.

 

[Scott Danforth]

if you ran it at all after buying it, it is no longer winterized.

with that much water in the oil, you need to pressure test the cooling system, as well as remove the bat-wings and test them with acetone.

with the bat-wings, its not if they will fail, it is when they will fail.

 

[Spools]

if you ran it at all after buying it, it is no longer winterized.

with that much water in the oil, you need to pressure test the cooling system, as well as remove the bat-wings and test them with acetone.

with the bat-wings, its not if they will fail, it is when they will fail.

Hey Scott
Ok Im pretty sure the pressure test procedure is on a sticky here. I'm not sure how to do the acetone test so I will see what I can find. Im taking a wild guess from the name of your sea ray that you might be a Wisconsinite. Worst case scenario and the manifolds are shot. Would you know of any places in WI that might have some replacements or perhaps what I can replace them with that won't have this problem? I really appreciate all the help here. This is my first boat so please forgive my newbie questions.

 

[Scott Danforth]

yes, the pressure test process is in a sticky

to test a manifold, block off the threaded ports and fill the water side with acetone, if it leaks out, manifold is bad. simple as that. you will most likely have to hold the manifold at an angle.

However once you pull the manifolds, I am willing to bet you find rust in multiple exhaust ports.

Currently living in Florida, originally from Wisconsin, grew up on the lakeshore (Manitowoc/Two Rivers). Received a job offer in March of '08 to come to Florida. Granted, it was -30 and I had just spent 3 hours with a snow blower clearing a 350' driveway from 18" of snow

For manifolds, buy new. New manifolds and Risers will cost you about $500 or so. I looked for an iboats link to post to buy OMC V6 exhaust manifolds, and all I saw were V8's.

Where in cheeseland are you located?

 

[Spools]

Oh wow. Sheboygan! Choices are a bit limited here as far as Marine parts/mechanics. Im not sure changing the manifolds is within my ability. I do have the OMC shop manual. My main concern is getting the done before the overnight temps get dangerous. Are theanifolds your talking about aftermarket or actual OMC manufactured parts from a different year ?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Oh wow. Sheboygan! Choices are a bit limited here as far as Marine parts/mechanics. Im not sure changing the manifolds is within my ability.

if you understand righty tight, lefty loosy and can operate a screwdriver without poking your eye out, you have the mechanical ability to unbolt the exhaust manifolds and bolt on new ones. 6 bolts, 1 hose clamp per side.

there are two marine places right on racetrack road just south of the hiway 23 exit. more as you get down near grafton and port washington. In two rivers is seagul marine. they were the go-to place when I had my OMC stinger. they had a few old drives in back, however that was years ago.

Greenbay propeller in suamaco is the best propeller place in WI.

best price on manifolds will be mail order. simply google batwing v6 manifold replacments

 

[Redrig]

What about the deck ? Did the water fill up the bilge and spill over onto the deck ? If so that could have caused major damage if that joint is not sealed up , it could have got your foam all wet and eventually rot the transom = bad news

 

[Spools]

What about the deck ? Did the water fill up the bilge and spill over onto the deck ? If so that could have caused major damage if that joint is not sealed up , it could have got your foam all wet and eventually rot the transom = bad news

Fortunately not. Checked on all sides of the bilge to be sure and no signs of that. So that's 1 good thing so far. :lol: