Water in Engine Pan?

Dec 29, 2017
124
Beneteau Oceanis 411 Baltimore
I just took the boat to a local marina to fuel up and noticed two things - some white smoke from exhaust area and a couple of tablespoons of water in engine pan. I am due for replacement of impeller (every other year) and am wondering if this might be the issue or if I need to be looking elsewhere. Thanks.
 

Tom J

.
Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
Could the white smoke be steam? The water could be from the raw water pump. Look for water at the weep hole of the pump. Might be time to rebuild the pump.
 
Dec 29, 2017
124
Beneteau Oceanis 411 Baltimore
A neighbor on my pier suggested the same - how hard / expensive of a job? I’m selling boat and want to advise future owner. (Was not picked up on survey).
 

Tom J

.
Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
A neighbor on my pier suggested the same - how hard / expensive of a job? I’m selling boat and want to advise future owner. (Was not picked up on survey).
Replacing or rebuilding the raw water pump is not a big deal. If you have the Universal engine, you might have the old style Sherwood pump, which is not difficult to remove, but a real pain to rebuild, and a new Sherwood pump is expensive. A lot of us with C310's have converted to Oberdorfer pumps, which are cheaper, easier to maintain, and more reliable. There are numerous threads on this site about this conversion if you want more info.
 
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Tom J

.
Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
A neighbor on my pier suggested the same - how hard / expensive of a job? I’m selling boat and want to advise future owner. (Was not picked up on survey).
Where is Middle River? There is another post on this site form someone in Chicago looking to buy a C310.
 
Dec 29, 2017
124
Beneteau Oceanis 411 Baltimore
Middle River is north of Baltimore. I’ll look into the Sherwood pump.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
White smoke is the good smoke. Likely H2O boiling off, especially if only after starting. That's supposed to happen.
I think the impeller is more about water flow than leaking water but I'm not expert.
A couple of tablespoons of water in the pan at this time of year is not something to start tearing the engine apart for. Just the temperature changes and condensate from the engine could produce that. My 2 cents and worth about that.
 
Dec 29, 2017
124
Beneteau Oceanis 411 Baltimore
No - small amount of water in pan below the engine - the engine is in one piece. I pulled the dipstick and it shows black rom the new oil.
 
Jan 4, 2006
6,444
Hunter 310 West Vancouver, B.C.
I pulled the dipstick and it shows black rom the new oil.
But, but, but, new oil is clear not black unless it's got a few hours on it and then it's not new any more.

I'm sorry but I can't understand what you mean by "the pan" and "the oil pan". You seem to interchange both of them and that's where I get lost. I also can't understand why you removed the oil pan when that is one monumental SOB of a job to do in place. And how could you see a couple of tbsp. of water in the oil pan when the water sits at the bottom of the oil

Perhaps if you could recount your exact steps from when you first saw the white smoke, using the terms "engine oil pan" and "FG pan below engine" we might be able to throw some light on the problem.
 
Dec 29, 2017
124
Beneteau Oceanis 411 Baltimore
H2O in FCB. Never removed engine oil pan. And oil as dark, not murky or other discoloration that would show other liquids had gotten into engine oil pan.

Sorry all the communication issues.
 
Dec 16, 2011
257
Catalina 310 Atlantic Highlands
H2O in FCB.
I'd definitely take a look at how quickly water is dripping through the packing material and coming out from the nuts on the shaft while the engine is in gear. I was getting a drop a second at rest and more while in gear...that was producing water into that catch basin for me, as it worked it way there from the stuffing box area under the aft berth behind the engine.
 
Dec 29, 2017
124
Beneteau Oceanis 411 Baltimore
I think that could be part of issue. I noticed a few drops of water catchment area below where transmission / shaft join when I went to check transmission fluid. What’s the fix associated with this?
 
Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
If it's the stuffing box, it's normal leakage. Unless it leaks when the shaft is not turning.
If you have a dripless seal, you may still have a problem
 
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