Wild Horses

Hi All

A friend has a problem with his 454. LOTS of water in the oil. He has two differences of opinion from two difference marine mechanics.

The engine was re & re’d last fall and upon startup this spring … lots of milky oil. The exhaust manifold was also in need of a weld job, which was done last fall.
Question… can enough water leak via the risers into the engine to cause this situation OR could it be a failed gasket or cracked cooler? The engine is still running strong… for now.

One mechanic has stated it could not be the riser with this much water present.

ALSO>>> If anyone in Ontario knows of a used set of performance Merc exhaust manifolds...... let me now, my friend is interested.

Thoughts

Vinny P

Stock Merc. manifolds and risers CAN leak alot of water. I hope you guys didn't get any engine damage from this. I also have never heard of trying to weld a Merc. manifold. They are basically throw aways. I would never put money into them. If you even think that they are leaking, junk them. A quick way to tell is to just pull of the risers and look down into the manifolds. If you see water, there is your problem. Also, what riser gaskets did you use? Mercruiser came out with a new design last year, it looks like a silver waffle looking old style exhaust manifold gasket. They seem to be a little better than the print-o-seal ones they had.

MitchStellin

I had the same problem. Added about a quart of water on a good 50 mile run. Took the cam lobe off due to this. If the manifold is cracked it is done. Replace the gasket and see. It could be anything from a head gasket to reversion (water sucked up the pipes) Find out fast since the milky oil will clog everything and oil will not get to every nook and cranny. Especially the back of the engine up top. Mine was a bad gasket. Cost me two nights in the garage.

pstorti

go to http://www.sterndrives.com/ go to the mercruiser service bulletins link and then to the bulletins link on the next page. There are a couple that deal with water in both the oil and in the engine, they are pretty detailed and they also tell you what to do to diagnose various problems.