Milky oil in my 2008 challenger 180 215

[Joe Morales]

I accidentally left both bilge drain plugs off and my hull got full of water...would this cause my oil to get milky or is it more likely that its a blown head gasket? It was my first time taking out the boat so I am very new to the boating world. Any input is greatly appreciated! :redface:

 

[pwgsx]

When did this happen? You need to get the water out ASAP. Do not start the motor until you follow the proper steps. Check the user manual and boil out steps.

 

[pwgsx]

Also check your bilge pump, it should have been pumping with that much water coming in.

 

[Coastiejoe]

Bottom line is, if the water got high enough within the hull then yes, it would make the oil milky...

As noted above, you need to replace the oil and get it running. You do NOT want water sitting in the engine as it can rust in as little as 24 hours.

If you pull the plugs does any water come out? If so, then you need to get on this NOW !!!! If no water then you still need to handle the issue but not as scary as it being in the cylinders. Still very important to get it running and up to temp to get the water out of the engine. You will need to be at the ramp or out on the lake riding to get it up to temp and for 30 minutes or so. On the hose will not work as you need to run th engine to long..

 

[pwgsx]

Also noticed your location, was this in salt water too ?? :facepalm:

 

[Joe Morales]

It happened in fresh water....this happened Saturday and I finally got the chance to flush the milky oil completely out today...it took 3 flushes for the oil to look "normal"....I did this out of the water with the garden hose hooked up with the engine running at 3 minute increments at 4,000 RPMs each time I put new oil in it to flush out the milky oil....is this not enough? As far as the spark plugs, those will be changed tomorrow....still trying to learn

 

[pwgsx]

Well you might have toasted your drive seal-carbon ring, it needs water to keep it cool. Did you follow the boil out steps that are found in the manual? Just running on a hose and changing oil wont get all of the water out. The good news is that it seems water was not found in the spark plugs? Hopefully it was just in the oil. Make sure your bilge pump is working too. It should have started pumping and you would have known something was wrong.

 

[devonte007]

In addition to what everyone else suggested, I would also start to go through all the electrical connections, fuses, plugs, etc. that the water could have touched. Take each one off/apart, spray compressed air to blow the water out, and coat them with dielectric grease. If you don't do this chances are you will start having 'electrical' issues at some point down the road when everything dries and gets nice and crusty.

If there was no water in the cylinders then you may have saved the engine. As pwgsx indicated running it on the hose like you did probably wore the carbon ring down. I would pull back the rubber boot and have a look, post some pictures. If worn it could cause performance issues or even let water back into the boat leading to flooding again. I would be vigilant and keep an eye on this seal next time you drop the boat into the water