Forgot to Winterize

I bought a 88 Four Winns Freedom last year. Only took it out a few time because I had broke my elbow early in the season. I forgot to winterize it last winter and now i have water in the oil. What may be some of the things that could of happen. I have talked to a few paople that have given me some ideas but do not have the money to take it in and get it looked at. Thank you.

 

Not good. You have to have that engine looked at by a qualified mechanic.
Do not run it. Find out or otherwise drain the oil (save the oil for analysis), blow out the water, replace the oil, and store it until you can afford a look-over.

Alan

 

Stick to Alan's advice. Water in the engine could be caused by a number of things - but from the experience of my many 'boatie' friends I learn that one of the commonest causes is 'forgetting' to close the inlet cock on the cooling system. (Though I'm unfamiliar with your vessel's engine). Might this be part of the problem ?

 

Dont get too upset, hold your horses here a minute.

First of all it could just be harmless condensation over the many cold damp nights.

Simple things first.

Drain oil and filter. Drain coolant and refill with anti freeze this time.

Try the engine out one day. It may be fine

 

Michigan--- one of the coldest places--- got down to -30f last winter, I'd bet.
If this engine is an outboard and raw water cooled and it wasn't anti-freezed or drained, chances are that something cracked, like the head. It happens around here all the time. Draining the oil into a glass container will show the amount of water in the oil. Any noticable layer of water in the oil isn't a good sign. I wouldn't run it unless the oil looks clean. If it is clean, with no water, then it was probably only condensation, especially if it was checked on a cold morning following a warm day.

 

Oh-- this is an outboard?

There was no mention of this on the first post, I assumed it was inboard V8 cast block. Alan what outboard do you know that uses antifreeze? Ive never seen one.

All Four Winns I know are inboard.

Inboard or outboard ?????????

 

No, I think you're right, jack, he didn't say, but it's got crankcase oil, so it's not an outboard because all outboards were probably 2-stroke back then.
I always ran some anti-freeze through my two-stroke outboard before putting away (cold winters).
If a v-8, then it must have an enclosed cooling system. If the boat was bought from someone in the southern states, the anti-freeze might have been inadaquate. Or raw water in the exchanger froze, but there shouldn't be any oil passages in there.

A.

 

It is a 3L 4 cylinder inboard. OMG cobra.

 

When i pull out the dip stick it is milky.

 

If it is milky it is emulsified, It had water in it the last time you ran it.

 

Yup. Head gasket, maybe.

 

If you didn't run it since last Summer, and not yet this year, the problem is unrelated to not winterizing. Typically, a blown head gasket causes the mixing of oil and water. Check your anti-freeze too. May have oil scum on top. One other thing would be if the bilge filled with water last season, since the oil was last looked at, up to either a gasket or a seal. Then it was run, but the oil wasn't cheked after.

 

It dosen't take anti-freeze. The was one time that the bilge was filled up. So how would i go about finding out if it is the head gasket? Is it hard to change the head gasket?

 

I haven't ran it since the forth of july last year. I had a broken elbow for most of the summer.

 

So the unit is a raw water cooled inboard. Damage can depend on whether salt water was in the bilge or in the cooling system, but you live in Michigan, so I'm guessing it's fresh water, which is less corrosive.
All good, especially if it was caused by water in the bilge. Then you may only need a new seal (s) and bottom end gasket (s).
If I knew the head gasket was good, I would put clean oil in it and run it for a few minutes and check the oil, then longer and check, etc., and then change that oil after a short number of hours. Then think about how the bilge water might have gotten in if all looks okay.
Maybe someone here knows a good way to check for a bad head gasket between oil and water passages.
Is your water pump run off of a belt, by the way, or a shaft from within the engine? I've seen it both ways, and in engines with inside shafts, there are usually a couple of seals with a drain in between, but water in the bilge can get to the inner seal around back of the outer seal.