Water in oil on 4.3L merc

[timjet]

I have a fresh water (fortunately) 4.3 L mercruiser '94 in my Chaparell with an Alpha 1 drive. I use it about 10 hours a year on my fresh water lake. I checked the oil the other day and found it looked in color like a chocolate milk shake.
I changed the oil and filter, ran the boat about 15 minutes and again found a little water in the oil.

The engine does not overheat and oil pressure is normal.

Where should I begin?

 

[mainstream]

Id have to say your risers

 

[timjet]

I was thinking more along the lines of a head gasket.

 

[timjet]

Well I took the boat over to the local marina and he said there was water in the cylinders. He also said the problem is either a bad head gasket or the risers need to be replaced. If he has to replace both the cost in labor and materials comes to about what a new engine would cost - $6000.

What do you guys think?

 

[Bucit]

Aftermarket riser/manifolds for only one 4.3L mercruiser could be as cheap as $1000 or less. It's not a hrad job for you to do yourself. Not sure about the head gasket. I would say $6,000 to repair and repalce is extremely high.

 

[GrandMaster]

I agree, $6,000 is not reasonable. Find out how many hours of labor are included in the quote and what the hourly labor rate is. In SFL, labor runs about $100/Hr. I dont see there being much additional labor to replace the head gasket(s) if they are already doing the risers.

Then go on ebay and look for 4.3L Mercruiser risers so you can see what the material costs should be.

 

[SloBurn]

Manifold and risers for a boat this old. Easy to do if you have access and should be less than $1000 for parts. Head gasket is another story, but $6000 sounds like double what it should be.......