Ugh! Milky engine oil.

[DaNinja]

Originally I thought it was just the trim oil that was contaminated but there was was milky puddles on the opposite side from the trim reservoir.

Checking the engine oil...I've seen darker latte's.

It probably happened during the lake test a couple of days ago. It ran pretty strong with the exception of dying once when going rapidly from WOT to idle.

I'm thinking about changing out the oil and filter and running it on the muffs to see if there's a simple fix that I'm missing. $15 worth of oil and filter may be wasted, but it might payoff compared to a shop bill.

Any thoughts as I research the cost/benefit of repowering a '95 lil' Ray

ETA...I did find a nice stroked out 350 but that would probably involve changing out the Alpha as well.:thumbsup:

 

[Creekwood]

The alpha should work fine with the 350 and might even bolt up where the 5.0 sat since I think its the same block in most respects, but a short throw crank.

 

[DaNinja]

The alpha should work fine with the 350 and might even bolt up where the 5.0 sat since I think its the same block in most respects, but a short throw crank.

I hope it doesn't require a repower, but yes the 350 (sorry to speak cubic inches) will do fine with the Alpha. It's the 350 stroked to 383 and pushing (they claim) 400hp that would be a bit much for an Alpha. I could be wrong. I'll have to check what an Alpha can handle. The 350 (and 350 stroked) should have the same mounts and accept the accessories off the 305.

Anyway...I hope it doesn't get to that point. I was more looking for simple things that I can check before I take it in. If I have to repower, this boat will have to sit this season or may be sold off.

 

[Nehalennia]

You may have ingested the water when you died going to from WOT to idle. I did it once. I made the mistake of actually turning off the key while underway and hydrolocked the engine. Since your's was still on it may have just gulped a little. It's hard to say, but I saved mine by getting it home and changing the oil in the engine 5 times in one day. That engine is still going strong on that boat which I've since sold. You may want to change the oil and run and inspect it to see if that's what you've done.
Best of luck.

 

[DaNinja]

You may have ingested the water when you died going to from WOT to idle. I did it once. I made the mistake of actually turning off the key while underway and hydrolocked the engine. Since your's was still on it may have just gulped a little. It's hard to say, but I saved mine by getting it home and changing the oil in the engine 5 times in one day. That engine is still going strong on that boat which I've since sold. You may want to change the oil and run and inspect it to see if that's what you've done.
Best of luck.

I was just reading a Stickied Thread on another board that said the same thing. It may be worth the $15 of oil and filter to find out.

I may repost the entry if I get permission from the Mod that created it. Or I'll just do this... http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=369864
Sorry if that broke a rule. Just sharing info.
h/t to Don S.!

 

[stuckinforward]

if interested, i have a complete drop in very low hour 305 roller from Merc, 1990, very strong. complete with manifolds,carb, starter, plug in and go 1000.00 plus shipping, 1000.00 eric 330-322-8817. roughly 300 hours on the boat

 

[Redhook98]

In case you wanted to do a swap:

A 305 and a 350 block are identical, except the bore and stroke. Actually, a 265, 283, 302, 305, 307, 350, 383 and 400 all share the same identical block (except of course bore and stroke, and a few minor things on the really early blocks). The 4.3 is just a 5.7 (350) with the back 2 cylinder lopped off. They all fit the sme motor mounts and all (for the most part) accept the same bolt-ons.

 

[33ec]

start simple. it might have ingested some water as some other folks indicated, if so and you get to it quick enough, no big deal, it could also be something slightly more complicated such as a head gasket going bad or a bad manifold as well. look for excess steam in the exhaust and check to see if your oil level rises and becomes cloudy while on the muffs, if so, start looking at manifolds and head gaskets. good luck.

 

[DaNinja]

You may have ingested the water when you died going to from WOT to idle. I did it once. I made the mistake of actually turning off the key while underway and hydrolocked the engine. Since your's was still on it may have just gulped a little. It's hard to say, but I saved mine by getting it home and changing the oil in the engine 5 times in one day. That engine is still going strong on that boat which I've since sold. You may want to change the oil and run and inspect it to see if that's what you've done.
Best of luck.

I hope this is what happened. I've got 12 quarts of oil and 3 filters. I'm going to give everything a good wipedown and run it on the muffs again this afternoon. I've also heard that a 50/50 mix of oil and diesel for a couple of runs can help get the water cleaned out quicker.

 

[DaNinja]

So I take it this is not normal?:smt009

I am sooo screwed...:grin:

 

[Daddubo]

I hope this is what happened. I've got 12 quarts of oil and 3 filters. I'm going to give everything a good wipedown and run it on the muffs again this afternoon. I've also heard that a 50/50 mix of oil and diesel for a couple of runs can help get the water cleaned out quicker.

I would not do that if any thing run a 10w oil with a qt of ATF the ATF is high detergent and will clean things up, a 50/50 mix will be to thin. If possible pull the drain plug so you can get more of the containment's out and let it drain out the drain in the hull. If you want you can pour the fuel oil straight in to the engine and let it drain straight out that would help flush the heads and the pan.

I would also check your exhaust shutters they may be the cause you got water in the engine.

 

[DaNinja]

I would not do that if any thing run a 10w oil with a qt of ATF the ATF is high detergent and will clean things up, a 50/50 mix will be to thin. If possible pull the drain plug so you can get more of the containment's out and let it drain out the drain in the hull. If you want you can pour the fuel oil straight in to the engine and let it drain straight out that would help flush the heads and the pan.

I would also check your exhaust shutters they may be the cause you got water in the engine.

I was just telling the wife that I was going to see if I can reach the drain plug. I may have to disconnect the cowling to do it.

I know that my exhaust shutters are clicking with a metal-to-metal sound. That and the fact that the exhaust bellows was not attached to the outdrive, may have allowed the water ingestion. That's my best case scenario.

 

[DaNinja]

Had a good run with fresh oil and filter.
I'm draining and filling the oil for one more run before I run out of daylight.

Man, was it painful seeing the valves in that milk.

Good news was there was no oil visible on the exterior of the motor.

Bad news is that could mean the issue is deeper.

I'm still hoping for incidental ingestion and a half dozen oil changes.:smt001

 

[DaNinja]

Does the one on the right look better or worse?

I think the problem may be deep in the motor.
Maybe just a head gasket?

 

[DaNinja]

Well, the boat went to the shop today. After a couple of oil changes, it was evident that there was active water ingestion and it wasn't a fluke back flow during the lake test.

Now I'm just hoping it's a gasket and no damage was done to the motor. That 400hp 383 may be a nice addition to the family, though.:grin:

"Really dear, this $2700 motor is really our only solution."

 

[thebig4-0]

Mark:

I may be interested in that engine if it is still available - I have an identical situation this spring with my 350 Mercruiser. My number is 289-686-0297.

 

[DaNinja]

Well, I visited the lil' Ray at the boat hospital today. I think we've eliminated everything but the block.

Now I need to figure out if I want to cough up $5K+ or repower the boat myself. It's within my capabilities, but logistically, I'm trying to figure out where I could do it.

 

[Nacho Boat]

Sorry to hear that. What are you going to do???

 

[DaNinja]

Well it's official. The block is cracked in two places.

Now my decision flow chart is getting complicated.

The boat is barely worth the cost of the repower, but the repower would push it past the threshhold, I think. Maybe someone in the business could weigh in on that.

I could repower here in Texas now and park it and head to LOTO.
I could repower here now and take it with me to LOTO.
I could just drag it to LOTO and repower it there.
I could just park it for this season and enjoy the other boat at LOTO and deal with a repower the SeaRay in the Fall.

Each option has it's own flow chart, except maybe the last one.

My head is spinning. I need a beer.:grin:

 

[OldSkool]

DaNinja,
Have you checked ot any of the high horsepower crate motors from Summit Racing? They are reasonable priced. However if your engine has low hours and you have the room and the tools, I would grab a block from a local salvage yard, bore it 30 over and install a rolling stock piston, crank and bearing kit. Reuse your heads or have them rebuilt and install them back on. If you retain the same cam then the intake will be OK to reuse. Or...... add high dome pistons, 202 port and polished heads (you can do them yourself if you make a template), Performance cam, and bump the injectors up a notch or two if it's EFI. Being old skool I'd go with a 750 CFM carb. Nothing bigger as it will flood the engine. But that me...At any rate, my idea of cost verses value. Can you put a price on the satifaction a boat gives you?
Good Luck.