1979 260Da

[B.matt]

I looked at a 1979 260DA, It was very nice total refit several years ago.When I looked at the eng oil and it was around 2qt. high. The owner said he didn't run it for very long that way, and I don't think it has been in the water in a while. Do you guys think it would cause severe damage and how could you tell if it was damaged. Trying to decide between this boat and aa 86 270 with twin sixes.
thanks for the help

 

[BarryCF]

Most likely water caused the level to be high. Cracked head or block is the likely culprit. I would check it carefully. You could have the oil analyzed if the owner insists he overfilled it.

 

[K-9]

:smt001 was the boat in the water when oil checked?and why was the level high?:smt001

I looked at a 1979 260DA, It was very nice total refit several years ago.When I looked at the eng oil and it was around 2qt. high. The owner said he didn't run it for very long that way, and I don't think it has been in the water in a while. Do you guys think it would cause severe damage and how could you tell if it was damaged. Trying to decide between this boat and aa 86 270 with twin sixes.
thanks for the help

 

[B.matt]

He added to much oil, I tend to beleive him because I saw what he thought was the full mark. If water was in the oil I would think I would have seen it in the oil or on one of the oil caps. I don't beleive the boat has been in the water this year. Also the enging is fresh water cooled

 

[BarryCF]

Caution. Water is heavier than oil and will sit on the bottom until agitated enough. In fact, an old trick when you lose some oil due to a leak, and have no oil to put in, is to put a quart or so of water in the crankcase. The pickup sits above the bottom of the pan and sucks off the oil...

Emergency, short distance only. More than one off roader that has used this trick to get to the oil store.

It is possible he simply put to much in of course. A loooong time ago, a high school friend put oil in his boat every time he checked it. He checked it by looking in the filler cap on the valve cover, didn't see oil, and would add a quart. I drained 6 quarts out of the darn thing before the level was correct.

 

[B.matt]

I saw the motor rung in nuetral, (was a little smokey) thought it was from not being run in a while. I checked the oil after it ran and it was high. The owner checked it before he ran and I even asked him if it was high he said no. After the run wouldn't the oil look milky white if it had water in it?.

 

[tdappleman]

Depends on the amount of water actually in the oil. If it had 2 quarts of oil it would most likely have quite a bit of blowby out of the breather tubes. It would most likely have turned a brownish color and you would see condensation inside the oil fill cap. I would recommend draining the 2 quarts - if you have an oil extractor pump get the tube as far down as you can so see what color the stuff is coming out. Could be an honest mistake - but overfilling the oil can cause significant problems if run too long that way.

 

[stevea661]

If you are considering the boat, place a large throw away aluminum roast pan under the oil pan and crack the oil drain plug, the water or water contaminated oil will show up there. Water is heavier than oil and will not show up on the dip stick or not neccessarily on the oil fill caps. Mine looked and ran fine when you checked the dip stick but looked like bailys Irish cream from the drain plug. About $2700 later and a new engine the oil looks the same no matter where you check it from:wow:. It could be a good barginning tool to lower the price assuming he has water in the engine and doesn't know it, or assuming he does know. At least you'll know.:thumbsup:

 

[kybishop]

I think you would see the milky brown color after running and re-checking. Certainly if you drained some. At least that is what I experienced auto wise. Had a 1974 Dodge Challenger and started to get water in the oil from a coolant leak. I noticed the milky brown color on the dip stick which is how I knew it was leaking.

 

[Matt89GT]

It's as simple as draining the oil completely into a disposable baking dish or what ever you need to use and refilling with 5 qts of new oil, run the engine and see what you got.