Universal M18 engine, in the water all winter, I just got aboard to get her ready for the season, and my oil pan is full of water. I drained about a gallon of water out, but very little oil came with it. I cranked the engine just to make sure it wasn’t seized, and oil poured out of the dipstick tube and the drain hose, so the saltwater must have pushed the oil up into the engine. How could water get into the engine? I figure the only way is through the exhaust , but the exhaust pile is a tall J- pipe so I don’t see how seawater could back up past it to get to the valves. Anti freeze level looks good. Raw water petcock was closed.
Oil pan full of saltwater !?
- Thread starter DaveAK
- Start date
A puzzle. If the raw water inlet was closed and the heat exchanger is still full then the exhaust is the logical way for water to enter. What to do? I would take the valve cover off and make sure that area is clean, maybe wash with a little diesel oil. Change oil and filter then run the engine up to temperature then change the oil and filter again, checking for contamination in the removed oil. A couple of oil changes is a lot less expensive than a new engine. Also a good survey of the exhaust system.
Another route to the oil pan is through the raw water pump. A failed seal could cause a leak.
Do you have a vented loop between the heat exchanger and the injection port on the exhaust elbow? A siphon can be created without one which would fill the exhaust manifold and then into the engine block.
Before this spring, when was the last time the oil was checked? It is possible water was displacing the oil for quite sometime before the winter layup and it was not noticed.
Do you have a vented loop between the heat exchanger and the injection port on the exhaust elbow? A siphon can be created without one which would fill the exhaust manifold and then into the engine block.
Before this spring, when was the last time the oil was checked? It is possible water was displacing the oil for quite sometime before the winter layup and it was not noticed.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,028
The oil was changed last fall, and the raw water pump is new, no water out of the seephole.There’s no vent on the raw water hose from the heat exchanger, just a big loop in the hose above the engine. There was a big storm here over the winter, 80 mph winds and rollers in the harbor. I’m guessing that’s what pushed water up the exhaust, which is worrisome because the same thing could happen if I’m anchored while riding out a storm.
You would be bow to wind and wave in that situation. Less prone to water incursion. Still I would look to make it better if you can