fresh water entry into 3.7?

[Redkneck]

So I'm working on multiple issues with my 170. Had it out yesterday and could not get it to run in gear, likely a shift interrupt issue, but also in the twenty minutes or so of idle time, I prob took in a quart of water into my fresh oil and saw no appreciable coolant drop. Would this possibly be coming in through the bellows? Also noticed more water than I thought should have been in the hull after pulling the plug.

Getting really close to cutting my losses and parting it out.

Thanks as always!

 

[alldodge]

Re: fresh water entry into 3.7?

So I'm working on multiple issues with my 170. Had it out yesterday and could not get it to run in gear, likely a shift interrupt issue, but also in the twenty minutes or so of idle time, I prob took in a quart of water into my fresh oil and saw no appreciable coolant drop. Would this possibly be coming in through the bellows? Also noticed more water than I thought should have been in the hull after pulling the plug.
!

Your boat uses a closed cooling system and heat exchanger and you found fresh water in your oil, correct?

 

[Redkneck]

Re: fresh water entry into 3.7?

I don't know that for sure but no doubt getting a significant amount of water, or possibly coolant as seen on the rise on the dipstick, but coolant level appears to be holding steady

 

[alldodge]

Re: fresh water entry into 3.7?

I don't know that for sure but no doubt getting a significant amount of water, or possibly coolant as seen on the rise on the dipstick, but coolant level appears to be holding steady

Is the coolent level your looking at an antifreeze bottle or an outdrive oil lube bottle?

 

[stonyloam]

Re: fresh water entry into 3.7?

Dang near impossible to get that much fresh water into a running 470. The oil should have turned very milky color with that much water in it. Sure it is not antifreeze? Is the engine waterpump weep hole clear? Seems like it would have to be a crackin the head or block. Did you check the coolant level in the reservoir? The only place fresh water gets near the block is the water dumping into the exhaust elbow and a running engine would just blow that out.

 

[Redkneck]

Re: fresh water entry into 3.7?

A little more info, I just noticed today the weep hole was clogged, I unclogged it but nothing came out. It may leak when running, I'll have to see. Boat was stalled out more than it ran yesterday. Also all for cylinders pressure tested in the 150-165 range.

 

[Redkneck]

Re: fresh water entry into 3.7?

And yes new oil on the stick had about a 1.5qt rise and was very milky

 

[stonyloam]

Re: fresh water entry into 3.7?

Usually the weep hole leaks when the engine is running and warmed up, and the cooling system is pressurized. If it was plugged it could be the problem.

 

[Redkneck]

Re: fresh water entry into 3.7?

Ran it this afternoon on a hose, no weep hole leak. Amazingly the oil level went from over full to not touching the stick after running! What gives? Is there sludge that is keeping it from draining down?

I've about reached my wits end!

Thanks as always.

 

[Redkneck]

Re: fresh water entry into 3.7?

OK, so if I have good compression on all four, AND I have no leak at the weep hole, where would the most likely place be for me to get coolant/water into the engine?

 

[alldodge]

Re: fresh water entry into 3.7?

Sorry about previous post but I did some research on the 470. In my novice opinion on the 470 it appears the fresh water is most likely coming from the cam seal. To replace it the timing cover will need to be removed. I would also say that if your oil is taking a long time to drain back into the pan you probably have some very restricted ports and they need to be cleaned.

 

[Redkneck]

Re: fresh water entry into 3.7?

Cam seal even if no weep hole leak?

I agree on the restrictions, prob needs blown out bad.

 

[stonyloam]

Re: fresh water entry into 3.7?

Cam seal even if no weep hole leak?

I agree on the restrictions, prob needs blown out bad.

Not very likely!

Pull the valve cover and take a look, the oil return drain holes are right there on top.

 

[stonyloam]

Re: fresh water entry into 3.7?

Did you determine that it is in fact antifreeze in the oil?

 

[Redkneck]

Re: fresh water entry into 3.7?

No Stony. I can't tell anything other than it's a grey milky mess. It's a mystery, I get off the lake and I have gained a quart plus on the dipstick, I get it back home and run it on the hose to look at the weep hole I unclogged, I wait twenty minutes and the oil isn't touching the stick! Must be a lot of sludge hanging up in the engine not letting it drain well. First time I pulled the drain plug I posted in here the oil level was almost nothing because nothing much came out. After adding oil, the next time I pulled the plug nothing came out, that's when I put a stick in the drain hole and sure enough sludge had clogged it up.

I think if I can just part this thing out, exhaust manifold, head, heat exchanger, alpha one upper and lower, ss prop, trailer, etc I can get most of my initial $1,000 investment back out of this POS and call it a lesson learned in trusting folks. Over the years I've done well with CL and ebay from cars to motorcycles, but I bit off a little more than I can stomach here. If she was a beauty I wouldn't mind dumping some $ in the 3.7, but she still needs money on cosmetics as well.

Let me know you you think, I really value and appreciate your opinions.

john

 

[stonyloam]

Re: fresh water entry into 3.7?

Wow that is a lot of sludge. It may be that there was water in there all along, down in the pan and it just got mixed in when you began running it. I still think it would be worth while to pull the valve cover and take a look. Could be there is a hole in the pan letting water in if the water level got high enough in the bilge. You should be able to smell antifreeze in the oil. The coolant level in the reservoir should also be dropping.

 

[Redkneck]

Re: fresh water entry into 3.7?

That's what's so weird, I didn't see an appreciable drop in the coolant tank! I'm going to pull the valve cover off today and take a good look. I have in years past taken a car engine and pulled the intake and oil pan and pressure washed the sludge out of one, but I don't know if I could do the same with this or not. I still got the stall issue when putting into gear, but I am assuming I can work that out with the interrupt switch/cable adjustments. Not even worried about that at this point. I'll let you know.

Thank you very much Terry!

 

[stonyloam]

Re: fresh water entry into 3.7?

I am guessing (guessing mind you LOL) that your stalling problem is more than likely your lower shift cable needs replacing. Basically the extra stiffness of a worn cable causes the shift interrupt switch to stay engaged too long and the engine stalls. This is a nice explanation of how it works: http://forums.iboats.com/mercruiser...nterrupt-system-works-288089.html#post1930449

 

[Redkneck]

Re: fresh water entry into 3.7?

Yeah I was reading that yesterday. Looks like a pretty good explanation, I don't pretend to fully understand it but I suppose I'm just getting more drag than need be going from neutral into gear and therefore causing the Y to move and stall out the system. That's the least of my concerns at this point. First I gotta get this vanilla milkshake maker to get cleared up. Crap I hate to pull the pan off this thing, but I suppose if I'm considering a part-out then what's the harm lol.

 

[Redkneck]

Re: fresh water entry into 3.7?

One question though: If the drive works fine on the muff, how does it "feel" the load of the water if the prop isn't turning?