Another water in engine oil ?

[Chumbiwumba]

I have a Suzuki DF-40 (2001) that started to to discharge oil through the exhaust and then we found that oil had some water intrusion.
At first I thought it might be a head gasket but when I pulled the plugs there was no water on them or rust.

I did a compression test with a snapon tester and I came up with about 190 PSI evenly per cylinder, so I started thinking that perhaps this is not a head gasket after all.

After researching previous post is it possible that there may be a breach between the oil pan, engine holder or timing case cover. Aside from corrosion penetration of the engine itself, these are the only other culprits I could find.

I was hoping to find a kindred spirit that has had similar circumstances.

The engine starts, runs and doesn't overheat but it is dumping oil out of the exhaust but not burning any oil (spark plugs are clean).

Thanks

[noelm007]

190 PSI is quite high, not that it matters, is the oil level increasing on the dipstick? for oil to come out of the exhaust, it has to get past the plugs and combustion chamber, are you sure it is not just leaking somewhere, rather than coming out the exhaust?

[Chumbiwumba]

There is water in the oil as the new oil I just put in is getting opaque and milky looking. It isn't the creme colored highly emulsified mix that you get typically with a head gasket. That is why I think it might be weeping in between the oil pan - engine holder cases.

Water is fed from the pump up the tube to the bottom of the oil pan case. It is fed around the exhaust port then though the engine holder. There is a gasket between the holder and the oil pan. So in its path to the cylinders and head there are two splits where water could leak in, if a gasket is breached.

I was throwing this out there in hopes that someone may have had this problem with this type of engine. It maybe inherit in the Suzuki design.

I am going to pull the lower unit so I can have access to the water tube off the pump. I am going to check for flow through that circuit as there may be salt or obstructions inside the cylinder and head cooling passages. This could cause excessive back pressure which could cause this leak.

Originally Posted by noelm007

190 PSI is quite high, not that it matters, is the oil level increasing on the dipstick? for oil to come out of the exhaust, it has to get past the plugs and combustion chamber, are you sure it is not just leaking somewhere, rather than coming out the exhaust?

[mitch]

It will a corrosion problem in the engine engine holder pan corrode out there is some other posts on here regarding this.
It also happens in other 4 stroke engine brands

[DXIIRaZeR]

BRAND NEW 2009 left over DF15 with less than 4hrs of use. Pulled out dip stick to find creamy white oil. Great, Salt water and oil mixed in my NEW outboard motor, Man what a disappointment!! Although Ive been assured this is rare, I am severely pissed that I have paid almost $3000 for what is about to be a rebuilt unit. I should get a NEW unit for what appears to be a factory defect.

[Egorena]

I just took apart my DT 140 2003. I had posted earlier about this and have found severe corroision in the engine holder exhaust chamber. Perforation has occured from the exhaust chamber into the bolt passages. I have not been able to detect perforation into the oill pan, but when I pulled the long bolts that are used to couple the holder to the power head, water came out. I have prepared the holder for glass beeding to thoroughly inspect the damage and possible repair. However, I cannot see any breach in the gasket between the water galley that runs adjacent to the oil pan and exhaust system. I suspect you may have this problem also.

[Chumbiwumba]

One of the things that I am suspecting maybe going on here I have found with other types of engines. You would think that the mating flanges that butt against each other would be perfectly flat (engine holder to oil pan and holder to power head, timing cover case) but that may not be the case.

Suzuki maybe having these cases cast in India or China. After they are cast they are usually milled and ground so that both flanges are flat and parallel within .001-002" of an inch. I suspect that this is not the case and to make matters worse the manual calls out for using suzuki bond (three bond) silicone sealant without gaskets. This is good stuff if it is used within its limits but can blow out if the gap it is filling is to large. The sealing surfaces (the metal) has to be absolutely free of any contamination. An oily residue-do means no bond and a weak spot especially if exposed to heat and pressure.

Even paper gaskets can fail if the cases aren't flat and if the distances between the bolts is very large. And by fail I don't mean blown out but they can wick water or oil under heat and pressure. I like to use gasket sealers with paper gaskets for that reason. It gives the gasket more meat, stops wicking and glues to the metal.

When I have mine apart I am going to check the tolerances on the mating surfaces and if they are off I am going to lap them to a high finish.

Make sure you get all the glass beads out as they can tear up an engine and are good at hiding from you.

[Egorena]

Thank you, yes I will clean it up good, but I still have the issue of having a welding shop patch up the perforations and bolt hole mating surfaces. I would love to find a used engine holder with little or no corrosion, but this may be an widespread problem with a bad design? Let me see what I can do to repair this thing. Problem is, I am not completely convinced this is the problem!