ugly Oil !

[thaeni]

I have a 12hp Westerbeke. Went to change the oil and found it
grey in color and paste like. Does anyone know what the problem
could be. The engine starts fine and oil pressure and temp are in spec.
There is no smoke from the exhaust. Any advice will be appreciated.

 

[Tim R.]

Sounds like coolant in the oil

Check the oil level on the dipstick. If higher than normal, you probably have a leak in the head gasket. Do a compression test. Temp readings could be inaccurate unless you run the motor up to temperature allowing the thermostat to open.

 

[RAD]

Sounds like water got into the crankcase

Grey is odd though cause water and oil combination is off white in color,I'd change the oil and filter and see if it turns color or the oli level rise's on the dip stick if it does than plan B

 

[Maine Sail]

If..

If it's a milky whitish gray, like Tim said, it's either antifreeze or water. Have you recently cranked your engine for more than 30 or so seconds with the seacock open? If so there is a chance it could be water from the wet exhaust system but it likely would have hydro locked before getting enough in to turn milky. Did she ever crank hard?

Change the oil and see if it happens again. In some cases cold engine condensation can turn it a little milky but it will burn off once warmed up. From the description it does not sound like condensation..

Has it overheated recently??

 

[Ross]

Re: If..

I wouldn't run it with that mix in the crankcase. If it is antifreeze it can distroy an engine rather quickly.

 

[sailaway78]

Water in oil

Water in the oil will cause it to be milky looking, but if it sits for a while, the water will usually seperate out, and settle to the bottom. Depending on what kind of anti freeze you are using, some anti freeze will make motor oil jell a little, but don't know what color it will turn it. Change the oil, change the filter, check your coolant level, and see where it goes from there.