My engine oil recently almost doubled in capacity when i changed the oil the
other day. It is gray / milky looking. Suggestions from another post said
have a mechanic look at it becuase it might be a warped head. Is there
anything else it could be? Also do you recommend I get it service before
the winter?

PS: How do they determine where the leak is coming from? Is it trial and
error is it a test with a dye like a car?


"Matt" wrote in message
...
My engine oil recently almost doubled in capacity when i changed the oil
the
other day. It is gray / milky looking. Suggestions from another post
said
have a mechanic look at it becuase it might be a warped head. Is there
anything else it could be? Also do you recommend I get it service before
the winter?

Last time I saw that mixture, it was in my S10 Blazer's V6. It was a result
of water/antifreeze steaming into the oil. Eventually led to my crank
seizing hard one cold Winter night, bearings have no sense of humor. Cost of
repairs - new short block assembly, rebuild the heads, and reinstall and
test.

I'd say your's is a similar problem and you best start stripping down to the
basic block and rebuild it. My guess would be warped heads or even a bad
head gasket. But these days, I'd end up letting another wrench fix it and
I'd go find another vice to keep me occupied. lol! Whatever you do, do it
right away. Don't run the engine or you may end up shopping for a new short
block assembly for yourself.

Murph


"Matt" wrote in message
...
My engine oil recently almost doubled in capacity when i changed the oil
the
other day. It is gray / milky looking. Suggestions from another post
said
have a mechanic look at it becuase it might be a warped head. Is there
anything else it could be? Also do you recommend I get it service before
the winter?

Most likely a perforated exhaust riser. If not that, either a blown head
gasket or warped/cracked head. Bad news in any case.

"Matt" wrote in message
...
My engine oil recently almost doubled in capacity when i changed the oil
the
other day. It is gray / milky looking. Suggestions from another post
said
have a mechanic look at it becuase it might be a warped head. Is there
anything else it could be? Also do you recommend I get it service before
the winter?

"Matt" wrote in message
...
My engine oil recently almost doubled in capacity when i changed the oil
the
other day. It is gray / milky looking. Suggestions from another post
said
have a mechanic look at it becuase it might be a warped head. Is there
anything else it could be? Also do you recommend I get it service before
the winter?


Those are the classic signs of getting water in the oil. Now the question
is where does it come from?

Do you have a fresh water cooling system? If so, then if the leak is from
the cooling system into the oil then you should also be losing water from
the cooling system.

A leak from the cooling system into the oil can be from a number of
places. The head gasket is a common failure point, but it is generally the
secondary effect of "blowing a head gasket", which generally is accompanied
by a loss in engine perfomance and overheating. The "warped head" leak is
generally the result of a significant overheating experience.

Another possibility is that rust/corrosion has created a leak path between
the cooling passages and the crankcase. This could be at a gasket, such as
the intake manifold or head, or through a casting itself. This is much more
likely to occur on a "raw water cooled" system, especially if used in a salt
water environment.

Is there any possibility that bilge water got high enough to cover the dip
stick? I have seen that happen before.

My suggestion would be to run a compression check on the cylinders. If you
had a bad head gasket, I would expect a problem to show up there. Next if
you have fresh water cooling, I would run a pressure test on the cooling
system.

Above all, you should definately take care of this now, don't wait! You
may have a major problem that will require a fair amount of time to resolve,
so fix it now so that it doesn't subtract from next season!

Rod

The most common problem in boats is the exhaust system. The manifolds,
risers, or the gasket between them leak. The water runs down into the
cylinders through open values and then leaks past the rings into the oil.
How old are your exhaust manifolds and risers? Do you boat in salt or fresh
water?

Second problem is that people don't drain the water form their engine, it
freezes and cracks the block or heads. Did you winterize last year? Did
you change the oil during the summer and it was ok then?

A warped head is usually the results of severe over heating. Did the engine
overheat?

It is best to make every effort to figure out what has happened before you
start disassembly. It's going to be bad no matter what it is.

"Matt" wrote in message
...
My engine oil recently almost doubled in capacity when i changed the oil
the
other day. It is gray / milky looking. Suggestions from another post
said
have a mechanic look at it becuase it might be a warped head. Is there
anything else it could be? Also do you recommend I get it service before
the winter?