Advice Needed: Water in Engine Oil

[HMBJack]

2006 F250TXR with 2,500 hours. I have twins on a 33 foot Grady.

Discovered my Port Engine Oil was brown. I seem to be getting water in the oil from somewhere.
I am on the wait list for a repower (F300 digital controls) but that will likely be 2023 at this point.
I do not have a trailer and it would be a large expense for me to take my boat to a yard where the power head would be removed and leak repaired.
I had "the kit" to replace the exhaust mid sections + new oil pump installed just over 4 years ago (Feb. 2018) by a Yamaha Master Mechanic when the engine had 1,464 hours.
The exhaust manifolds were not problematic and showed normal signs of wear and tear for a 12 year old F250. I did this job as a precaution.

I'm thinking not to spend big $ on a repair only to toss the engine in 6-9 months.

Question: I can live with brown oil until I get my repower early next year?
My intent is to change the oil every 30 hours or so to keep the viscosity at a reasonable level.
Oil is cheap. One hour of labor is $125 or higher and I'm just trying to get another 6, 8 or 12 months out of this engine.

What would you do? And, would synthetic oil hold up better with some water in it than regular oil?

[zenoahphobic]

2006 F250TXR with 2,500 hours. I have twins on a 33 foot Grady.

Discovered my Port Engine Oil was brown. I seem to be getting water in the oil from somewhere.
I am on the wait list for a repower (F300 digital controls) but that will likely be 2023 at this point.
I do not have a trailer and it would be a large expense for me to take my boat to a yard where the power head would be removed and leak repaired.
I had "the kit" to replace the exhaust mid sections + new oil pump installed just over 4 years ago (Feb. 2018) by a Yamaha Master Mechanic when the engine had 1,464 hours.
The exhaust manifolds were not problematic and showed normal signs of wear and tear for a 12 year old F250. I did this job as a precaution.

I'm thinking not to spend big $ on a repair only to toss the engine in 6-9 months.

Question: I can live with brown oil until I get my repower early next year?
My intent is to change the oil every 30 hours or so to keep the viscosity at a reasonable level.
Oil is cheap. One hour of labor is $125 or higher and I'm just trying to get another 6, 8 or 12 months out of this engine.

What would you do? And, would synthetic oil hold up better with some water in it than regular oil?

The most commonsense reply would be not to use this engine until the problem is resolved.

The risk is the engine could fail quickly and you will have a destroyed engine that could have been saved.

Water leaks are not stable, a warped head gasket, a corroded water passage only get worse.

A little water may not be a problem, but there will be a point where this water will corrode every surface it is required to protect.

Your proposed gamble is understandable and tempting. If you were to do as proposed I would atleast have that oil tested to see how much water is actually in it, other useful deterioration information can also be determined from testing. I would then regularly do this to monitor change. Changing oil will help greatly but will also tend to mask the problem somewhat.

All in all, I would do as much inspection, by a professional if possible in situ to determine what type of leak it actually is first.

[Keithbaja]

This my sound strange. Pop new therms in her. Or test (properly) with a infrared laser gun for correct temp. Its called Wicking, making water. And I've seen it many times. Start flushing with Salt Away and leave it in DA motor. DONT rinse it out. Grrr !

[zenoahphobic]

This my sound strange. Pop new therms in her. Or test (properly) with a infrared laser gun for correct temp. Its called Wicking, making water. And I've seen it many times. Start flushing with Salt Away and leave it in DA motor. DONT rinse it out. Grrr !

I can understand your theory about the engine possibly running too cold and therefore water may not “boil” off, as water is a by product of combustion.

But I am having difficulty how salt away may work, particularly as to how it can be retained in the engine as the cooling system is not sealed (closed). Please explain? Or is it separate from the issue and just advised to do?

[HMBJack]

Keith - I read your earlier posts on the T-Stats and water. Like Zeno, I do not understand how that could in any way affect the motor oil (each are closed systems). But I none the less swapped out the T-Stats.

My current plan is to monitor the oil color very closely. I normally put 24 hours a month on my F250's. If I were to only use the Port (milky oil) engine while running, I can get it's monthly usage down to only 15 hours per month. And if I were to change the oil each month or 15 hours, I might get by until I get my new engines (~January). I know it's a gamble but I don't have much choice. My Mechanic said, they could remove the power head and might determine the leak is from deep inside the power head. Buying a reman power head or incurring 10+ hours of labor + parts at this point makes zero sense to me. I simply need 6 months out of this engine. Tough spot I'm in. Ugh!

Lastly, is there an oil service anyone can recommend to me?
After say 10 hours of use, I suppose I can mail them a sample and go from there. Thanks

[Keithbaja]

Zeno, saltaway keeps the cooling system clean and working like therms

[zenoahphobic]

Zeno, saltaway keeps the cooling system clean and working like therms

Yes we understand that about saltaway, but thermostats don’t keep the cooling system clean and working. They restrict the flow of water and almost always have deposits on and around them that lead to clogging!

[Keithbaja]

I'm not a chemist. But I was smog licensed. The state of Cali wants me to measure your tailpipe for several chems. One of which is carbon monoxide, then they try and make you water a mask. wtf !! A cold running 4-STR needs to warm up to a liveable temp. Anything over 163 and salt crystaliz. I can't tell for sure at what temp (cold) a motor "Wicks" or "makes water" its a known fact to any good tech. PLEASE look around the web and I'm sure ur find some info. I have fixed probably at least 10+ motors that came to me with this issue. As a captain that's run vessels from panama to Alaska with Hawaii thrown in along with many, many winters in Baja Sur mexico. Somewhere around 2k POB lives in my hands. I don't bs. I help this helps the fellow boater and all out.

[zenoahphobic]

Why can’t you explain then yourself why Saltaway would solve the OP’s water in the oil situation? Even a small explanation would help us!,

[oldmako69]

Pfm?



..........

[Keithbaja]

I was suggesting that if it turns out his them's are stuck open ( they seem to get stuck open) salt away will help maintain his cooling system in the future. Not anything to due with the water in his oil..... But, bad therms can make water in the oil
.. I can't seem to make it any more simple than that..
.

[zenoahphobic]

I think we worked that out.
On “making water” (in the oil) you refer to condensation of water out of the air.
I haven’t heard the term wicking for this process, but hey, I’m from the other hemisphere where the water is on top of the boat and not underneath.
And contraction of terms like “bad therms can make water in the oil” can confuse those of us that are not from the USA.

[ausnoelm]

Making oil usually does not mean water in the oil, it means fuel in the oil, the oil still looks like oil, not milky like it has water, it is diluted (added to) by fuel.