Head Gasket / Milky Oil

[Jon1229]

Water in oil

Just wondering if it takes a lot of water to make your oil milky. When I was changing my head gasket I forgot to drain the water before unscrewing the head bolts, causing the pistons to fill with water. When that happened I vaccumned out the pistons and dried them very thoroughly with paper towels before putting the engine back together. Now after running the engine for a little while I noticed the oil is milky, not a problem I had before I changed the head gasket. Does it take a lot of water to make the oil like this or could whatever may have seeped down the piston walls in that 5 minutes have caused it?

 

[HT32BSX115]

Just wondering if it takes a lot of water to make your oil milky. When I was changing my head gasket I forgot to drain the water before unscrewing the head bolts, causing the pistons to fill with water. When that happened I vaccumned out the pistons and dried them very thoroughly with paper towels before putting the engine back together. Now after running the engine for a little while I noticed the oil is milky, not a problem I had before I changed the head gasket. Does it take a lot of water to make the oil like this or could whatever may have seeped down the piston walls in that 5 minutes have caused it?

Howdy,

After all that work, did you drain the oil and refill?

Why did you replace the head gasket(s)? (I.E. what was the problem before the head(s) came off?)

What is this you're working on? Year boat year model is not all that important but the engine/drive model & serial number is.

Cheers,

Rick

 

[Scott Danforth]

if you pull the heads, you must change oil because not only does water get in there, however other crud from the gasket scraping, etc. gets in there.

 

[Jon1229]

Howdy,

After all that work, did you drain the oil and refill?

Why did you replace the head gasket(s)? (I.E. what was the problem before the head(s) came off?)

What is this you're working on? Year boat year model is not all that important but the engine/drive model & serial number is.

Cheers,

Rick

I changed the head gasket on a 2001 mercruiser 3.0L. I changed the head gasket because it blew out of the side of cylinder 3. And no, I did not change the oil right afterwards I thought making sure it was very very clean was enough. Either way I’m changing the oil 2/3 times tonight I was just wondering if it takes a lot to make the oil milky

 

[Bondo]

Either way I’m changing the oil 2/3 times tonight I was just wondering if it takes a lot to make the oil milky

Nope, it don't take alota water, 'n more went into the oil than ya think,.....
As soon as ya cracked the head loose, water went into the base, as well as onto the pistons,.....

It only takes 1 oil change to remove the bulk of the water, 'n crap,.....
Then run it up to temp, 'n the tiny bit of water left, will steam off, 'n leave by way of the vent,.....

 

[Jon1229]

Nope, it don't take alota water, 'n more went into the oil than ya think,.....
As soon as ya cracked the head loose, water went into the base, as well as onto the pistons,.....

It only takes 1 oil change to remove the bulk of the water, 'n crap,.....
Then run it up to temp, 'n the tiny bit of water left, will steam off, 'n leave by way of the vent,.....

After I changed it, the oil was still looking like chocolate milk. Right now I’m currently draining the first batch of “new oil”, still looks pretty nasty. Hopefully it’s not a bigger problem that keeps adding water as I’m changing it

 

[Jon1229]

Compression is good, temperature is staying under 150 and engine sounds like it is running perfectly. The oil just clearly has water in it

 

[Jon1229]

Second one still milky too...definitely starting to get concerned. I don’t think it would be he block though because it wasn’t doing this before I replaced the head gasket and now it is.

 

[tank1949]

Just wondering if it takes a lot of water to make your oil milky. When I was changing my head gasket I forgot to drain the water before unscrewing the head bolts, causing the pistons to fill with water. When that happened I vaccumned out the pistons and dried them very thoroughly with paper towels before putting the engine back together. Now after running the engine for a little while I noticed the oil is milky, not a problem I had before I changed the head gasket. Does it take a lot of water to make the oil like this or could whatever may have seeped down the piston walls in that 5 minutes have caused it?

Had engine get rained on one time. I had "milk" on my stick! I almost pulled motor.

 

[achris]

Less than 1% water is enough to cloud oil... You have a 4 litre sump, you'd need less than 40ml to cloud the oil. That's less than 2 fl oz, a couple of tablespoons. And as water sinks, trying to get it all out is a mission.

Chris........

 

[Jon1229]

Less than 1% water is enough to cloud oil... You have a 4 litre sump, you'd need less than 40ml to cloud the oil. That's less than 2 fl oz, a couple of tablespoons. And as water sinks, trying to get it all out is a mission.

Chris........

That being said, how would I know if the water is being reintroduced as I’m changing the oil, or if there’s just more that needed to come out/residue from the oil oil?

 

[Jon1229]

What did I do wrong— head gasket

hey all,

i replaced the head gasket last week and the exhaust manifold gasket, the engine is running very smoothly with good compression across the board. Problem: the oil is milky and seemed rather low and it wasn’t before I replaced the gaskets. I know I did accidentally get water in the block when changing it but since then I changed the oil 3 times (all in one day) and it is still milky. Since it wasn’t milky before I changed it I would like to think the block isnt the problem and isn’t cracked. I used a felpro head gasket but the manifold gasket was some knock off brand. Questions: is it possible the oil is still milky after 3 oil changes? Is water being reintroduced somewhere? Screws, manifold, head gasket? 2001 mercruiser 3.0L

 

[hoowahfun]

Could be the head gasket is not sealed properly or is misaligned from poor cut quality. Had that happen on my outdrive this summer, used a couple of knock off gaskets and water leaked into the u-joint bellows. Thankfully I had only run the engine in the driveway a few times on the hose. Found it when I removed the drive to replace the trim sensors so I used a genuine Mercruiser gasket set the next time. I distinctly recall thinking to myself the first time around that it didn't fit well, but thought it was okay. Won't make that mistake again.

Other thought: did you torque your head down properly? Why did you replace it to begin with? Warped head maybe?

 

[Jon1229]

Could be the head gasket is not sealed properly or is misaligned from poor cut quality. Had that happen on my outdrive this summer, used a couple of knock off gaskets and water leaked into the u-joint bellows. Thankfully I had only run the engine in the driveway a few times on the hose. Found it when I removed the drive to replace the trim sensors so I used a genuine Mercruiser gasket set the next time. I distinctly recall thinking to myself the first time around that it didn't fit well, but thought it was okay. Won't make that mistake again.

Other thought: did you torque your head down properly? Why did you replace it to begin with? Warped head maybe?

I replaced it for blowing out the side of cylinder 3. I torqued it in the correct sequence but i can take the valve cover off and torque it again. The felpro head gasket is supposed to be one of the better ones to use. Could the manifold gasket cause this??

 

[Scott Danforth]

how many threads are you going to start on the same subject?

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/eng...board-engines-outdrives/10630666-water-in-oil

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/eng...ves/10631390-what-did-i-do-wrong—-head-gasket

please stick to one thread

 

[Scott Danforth]

you change oil, you run the motor hard to build heat. any residual moisture will be burned off.

if you still have water in oil, then you pressure test the jacket side and look for cracks in the block

 

[Jon1229]

how many threads are you going to start on the same subject?

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/eng...board-engines-outdrives/10630666-water-in-oil

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/eng...ves/10631390-what-did-i-do-wrong—-head-gasket

please stick to one thread

Yeah I started this cause I’m looking for the answer to what could have caused it that’s all

 

[Jon1229]

you change oil, you run the motor hard to build heat. any residual moisture will be burned off.

if you still have water in oil, then you pressure test the jacket side and look for cracks in the block

Okay thanks, when I changed it I only idled for about 20 minutes before I changed it again, so maybe that wasn’t enough. I’ll run it hard for a while tonight and see.

 

[GA_Boater]

how many threads are you going to start on the same subject?

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/eng...board-engines-outdrives/10630666-water-in-oil

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/eng...ves/10631390-what-did-i-do-wrong—-head-gasket

please stick to one thread

I think it was 5 in total. Now only a single thread.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Okay thanks, when I changed it I only idled for about 20 minutes before I changed it again, so maybe that wasn’t enough. I’ll run it hard for a while tonight and see.

20 min at idle will not "cut" it. You must run it for at least long enough to get the oil up to full operating temp. That usually means 30 min or more at normal cruising speed. (and that's every time between oil changes)

Also, draining the oil the "regular" way, I.E. sucking it out of the dipstick tube, doesn't usually get the last little bit out of the bottom of the pan where you might have a "Water-line""

If a couple of changes do not reduce the water, you should pressure check the cooling system to rule out block/head cracks and/or gasket leaks.

The block should hold 15-20 PSI for at least an hour or 2

Close off all openings using any plumbing fittings/hoses etc you can find, connect a valve and a gage (between the valve and the block) , pump it up, close the valve and turn the compressor OFF and listen. If it's leaking, you'll hear it.