Sea Ray 290 2000 Water in oil and cylinder.

Batte

Batte

New Member
Jan 30, 2012
9
Sweden Bastad
Boat Info
Sea Ray Sundancer 380 2001
Caterpillar 3126 x2 350hk
Rymarine c80 Raymarine E
Engines
Caterpillar 3126
After experiencing water in the cylinders and engine oil (Mercruiser 5.7 efi) we tried to renovate the cylinder heads and checked the exhaust elbow and exhaust manfold for tightness. However, water is still penetrating some cylinders and we still find water in the engine oil. Has anyone experieced something similar? All input much appreciated
 
The most likely cause is a failed exhaust riser or manifold. In simple terms the rust / corrosion causes the water jacket inside the riser / manifold to fail allowing water to mix with the exhaust inside the manifold or riser (is should not mix until the water exhaust exists the riser through the exhaust. The repair is more than just tightening the the manifold/riser bolts. At a minimum you would need to replace the risers (they fail first) and possible the manifolds. Depending on how much water, how long it sits in the engine, it is likely you have damage to the cylinder heads (rusted/corroded valves) and worst case lower end damage to pistons/connecting rods from trying to crank a hydrolocked engine. If this boat is run in salt water, the risers/manifolds are way over due, usually a 5-7yr wear item in salt water. Freshwater they will last forever.

-First thing I would do is get the oil changed and spray some type of penetrating oil into the cylinders to protect them from rust/corrosion until you figure out the problem. Letting water sit in the oil / cylinders is going to cause more problems.

-Next, get the old risers and manifolds off and inspect, you are probably going to see a lot of rust and will want to replace them. The risers at a minimum, but probably manifolds too unless you know the history - if they are original they are end of life.

-From there inspect the cylinder heads - you said you tried to renovate, does that mean you reworked the heads? But put the old manifolds / risers back on? If so, could be a matter of replacing the risers/manifolds and you are fixed.

Good luck, these things happen as boat motors age, take care of it correctly and it's not a huge problem - not cheap, but can be fixed. If damage is limited to the manifolds / risers and re-working heads, it's a straight forward fix. If there are deeper problems it becomes more complex, expensive and possibly not worth fixing.
 
Thank you all for answer.
Since we did not find the fault with water in the oil and the cylinders, I bought a new longblock from US that I will assemble after the weekends. Then I have eliminated rust holes in the block.
We have pressure tested exhaust so they seem to be good. What I understand can only be the exhaust elbow left as rusted ?
Sorry fore my english , but boat talk works everywhere ...
 
The exhaust elbow/riser is usually the first to go, they typically last 5-7yrs in salt water (will last forever in freshwater). If yours are more than 5yrs old this is most likely the root of the problem.
 
I drive in salt water so....

I also had 10 liters of water in the oil after a short time startup. However, it is assumed that it comes from a rust hole in the block. I can not late another contact otherwise.
 
Batte said:
I drive in salt water so....

I also had 10 liters of water in the oil after a short time startup. However, it is assumed that it comes from a rust hole in the block. I can not late another contact otherwise.
Click to expand...


10 liters?!?!
That is a large amount of water in a very short amount of time.
Before you reassemble that new long block, you must inspect every area that salt water could enter the crank case.

If there is ANY rust inside any water passages in that 18 year old intake manifold, Do not re-use it.

Do you have an oil cooler on that motor? If so, i would replace that too.
 
Yeah, 10 liters is around 2 1/2gal - would think a milkshake of oil would be spewing everywhere if that were the case.
 
Intake manifold , I got it....:)
I have no oilcooler.

Thank you all for all the tips.

We have winter in Sweden now but I would like to drive home it about 50 nm

I will return with results !
 
Yes , I'll check it out

Thanks
 
Put new manifolds and elbows on a new long block, way cheaper than engines.
 
Wow, you guys know a lot about engines. Maybe you can help me with a similar issue.

I recently bought a 340 with 454 engines. The previous owner had installed rebuilt engines but had issues with them upon startup and put less than 30 minutes run time on them. The engines have not been run the previous 7 years.

Pulled the engines and they were full of rust. Looked like water leaked into the cylinder heads and valves. We cleaned and pressure tested the heat exchangers (freshwater cooled) and they tested fine.

Any ideas on how water could have leaked into the engine, and any ideas on what to look for when reassembling them?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,094
Messages
1,425,822
Members
61,017
Latest member
IslandGirls1020
Back
Top