Kevlar7R
Cadet
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2011
- Messages
- 18
There are a lot of threads about water intrusion, and milkshake coming out of the breathers, however I hadn't found one that covered my exact problem. I solved mine, so I thought I'd share my experience in case others are in the same situation.
In my case, I was getting the oil/water mix milkshake out of my breathers, but had no evidence of water in the oil pan. The engine ran perfect, no evidence of anything wrong. I was about to strip the motor down to the block, and look for the problem.
The fact that there was no water in the oil pan was what really had me scratching my head.
So, I get to drinking a beer with my neighbor, who's been elbow deep in engines and grease his whole 70+ years. And he asks me what my engine temperature is. It was then that it hit me, that I'd never seen the engine over 130 degrees. He deduces that my thermostat is stuck open, and the engine isn't running hot enough to vaporize the crankcase gasses and they are condensing in the valve cover.
Turns out, he was right. My thermostat was so corroded I had to hammer it out. New thermostat, the motor now holds 160 degrees, and runs 180 degrees at full throttle. After 2 days on the lake, and running 45 gallons of fuel through the boat, there is no milkshake. I'll be damned that crazy old guy solved it for me!
So, if you're getting water at the breathers, but not in the oil pan.... Check your thermostat!
In my case, I was getting the oil/water mix milkshake out of my breathers, but had no evidence of water in the oil pan. The engine ran perfect, no evidence of anything wrong. I was about to strip the motor down to the block, and look for the problem.
The fact that there was no water in the oil pan was what really had me scratching my head.
So, I get to drinking a beer with my neighbor, who's been elbow deep in engines and grease his whole 70+ years. And he asks me what my engine temperature is. It was then that it hit me, that I'd never seen the engine over 130 degrees. He deduces that my thermostat is stuck open, and the engine isn't running hot enough to vaporize the crankcase gasses and they are condensing in the valve cover.
Turns out, he was right. My thermostat was so corroded I had to hammer it out. New thermostat, the motor now holds 160 degrees, and runs 180 degrees at full throttle. After 2 days on the lake, and running 45 gallons of fuel through the boat, there is no milkshake. I'll be damned that crazy old guy solved it for me!
So, if you're getting water at the breathers, but not in the oil pan.... Check your thermostat!
