White Smoke

[awesomesteven]

A little background on the boat. 86 sunsport. 351w. I bought it off a friend who was very upfront with me and told me the boat sank about 2 years ago. He said that as soon as the tow guys pulled it out of the water, they cleaned out the engine (he said it was pickled?) and then it was winterized. Earlier this spring he started working on it but gave up halfway through and I got a killer deal on it.


When I started the boat up last night I got a hugh puff and constant stream of white smoke coming from the exhaust. Definetly white and no real smell to it. I checked the dipstick and there seemed to be some water in there but the odd thing was that the oil wasn't milky. This was the first time I got the boat running long enough to get it up to 160 (and then some, but that problem is fixed for now). For now I'm just going to change the oil and filter.

Could this be a cracked block and I'm getting water in the oil or something else? How can I diagnose?


Edit...I stopped by the house for lunch and wanted to take a look at the spark plugs. First I turned the boat on for a few seconds. Then I took out #1 spark plug and water poured out. There is still some in there because if I shake the boat water still trickles out. I checked all the others and its the only one. Is this a bad head gasket? What happened?!?!

[jzelt]

What made it sink?
If it was first time it was ran, I would change the oil and run it again. I would assume their pickling just oiled the cylinders. Did you check the oil before running it? (how did it look, new?).

[awesomesteven]

There was a crack in there fiberglass at the swimdeck bracket. Sank over the week while he as gone.

I changed the oil when I got it, after fogging it.

I just talked to my carbeurator guy and he said if it were a car then it would be a head gasket - but its different on a boat. He had a real thick southern accent so it was hard to understand but over the phone. Something about the exhaust and the downstroke and water...

[wotan2525]

I am so confused by your posts. If I am reading this correctly, you came home from work, THEN the boat started and ran, THEN you pulled a plug and water came out? How was it running if the cylinder was filled with water?

Fogging oil is going to make some smoke. Diesel or kerosene (or whatever they pickled it with) is going to make some smoke. If you don't have milkshake water/oil mixture on your dipstick, you are fine.

[awesomesteven]

How was it running if the cylinder was filled with water?

That's what's getting me confused. Could it be possile that I have a leak in the exhause manifold or riser and when I cut the engine off water got sucked in there?

After some research - here is a list of possible things - I plan on going over.

1. Intake manifold leaking near a water passage
Loose or cracked intake
Bad intake gasket
Corroded head or intake

2. Engine "diesels" or tries to run backwards (I've never heard of this)
Engine out of tune, poor fuel, high idle RPM,
timing set too high, intake leak

3. Rain water running into flame arrestor
Hatch cover leaking or left open (I did have the engine cover off once and it rained - but I did have the boat itself covered.

4. Backwash through the exhaust system

5. Cracked exhaust manifold (I have to check these)

6. Loose cylinder head bolts

7. Blown cylinder head gasket

[villain]

seems to me like your on the right track to get it figured out. good luck! im thinking that when they "pickled" the motor they got a little over zealous with the oil and it pushed the head gasket out. run a compression test and report back.

[awesomesteven]

What pressure should i be getting for the compression strokes?

[CornRickey]

150. 4 or 5 cranks over with WOT and engine warm. The actual number isn't as significant as the difference between the cylinders. If you had water in in just one cylinder and it pours out, you have problems even if there isn't water in the oil .

[awesomesteven]

I haven't had a chance to check the compression but I did notice that the exhaust manifold for the side that had water in the cylinder was cracked - just a hairline crack. If the crack goes all the way through (which I'm suspecting it does) the vaccum leak can make water leak back into the cylinders when I turn the engine off. I ordered a new manifold (and gaskets) from skidim and can probably put it in tomorrow.

[awesomesteven]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/06/20/na8yqase.jpg

Pretty large crack on the manifold. Seems like it was covered.up with some jb weld

[DAFF]

Before you go too far in repairs do a compression test. Especially the one with the water in it.

[awesomesteven]

Yea. That's still to come. I need to pick up a compression kit for that- hopefully one of my friends has one.

I'd rather not risk it with the manifold. The pic was taken after I sanded off the patch. Before I sanded it off you could see when the water pressure cracked and chipped the patch. Its definitely something to replace.

Question: do I need sealant for the gaskets?

[wotan2525]

Your local oreillys has a pressure tester you can borrow. Autozone also does. What gaskets are you talking about? The exhaust gaskets? Those do not need sealer, but the bolts do need anti-seize on them when you reinstall.

[awesomesteven]

I didn't know they had that. Good news!

I should have clarified. I was wondering if the gaskets between the riser and manifold need sealant since water passes through those. If so, what type?

[awesomesteven]

OK, it's been a while but I was able to do a compression test on all cylinders and they all checked out ok.

Would it be right to conclude that the crack on the manifold was the reason there was water in the #1 cylinder (or bad gasket)?