Water in oil

[rogtwo@aol.com]

It's my turn for a technical engine question.

It appears I have water in my ENGINE oil (quite a bit of it). I had recently
changed the oil, and there was no water in it prior to my last outing. If
this were any other car, I would know coolant was leaking into the oil, probably
from a bad head gasket or cracked head.

But, before I jump to this conclusion, I thought I better ask. Is there ANY
way that lake/bilge water can get into the engine? I was in the water for 4
hours or so, and there were sometimes waves breaking over the hood. This lead
to a significant amount of water in the bilge. It wasn't enough to come up
over the floor board, and I don't think it ever hit the engine fan. Given this,
is it at all possible that water got into the engine oil from the bilge? It
seems impossible to me, but I thought I better ask the experts.

Thanks

Roger St. John
White '63
Seattle


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

 

[Jim Z]

Roger,
Unfortunately, I have had some experience with the phenomenon of getting water
in my oil. What happened to me was unfortunate, but since it occured like it
did, it is possible that other cars may suffer from the same problem.
There is a brass water pipe that runs under the exhaust manifold - it is part
of the heater. That brass pipe connects to the water pump with a short length
of rubber hose. That hose resides directly above the dipstick. On the Amphicar
(at least on mine) there is no dipstick tube, only a hole in the block that the
stick sits in. On my car, that hose leaked, and water ran down the side of the
block and into the dipstick hole. The dipstick was in place when this happened,
in fact, the felt washer meant to help seal the dipstick acted like a sponge and
wicked water down into the sump. I didn't find out about all this until it was
too late, and uh...got to rebuild my motor because of it.
To guard against this in the future, I have fitted an aftermarket dipstick and
tube. Nothing can leak into the block now unless it is deliberately poured down
the new tube, and it also makes checking my oil much easier than before.
Hope this helps.

Jim Z
'64 Blue
San Pedro, CA




----- Original Message -----
From: rogtwo@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 21, 2003 8:34 PM
To: amphicar-lovers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [amphicar-lovers] Water in oil

It's my turn for a technical engine question.

It appears I have water in my ENGINE oil (quite a bit of it). I had recently
changed the oil, and there was no water in it prior to my last outing. If
this were any other car, I would know coolant was leaking into the oil, probably
from a bad head gasket or cracked head.

But, before I jump to this conclusion, I thought I better ask. Is there ANY
way that lake/bilge water can get into the engine? I was in the water for 4
hours or so, and there were sometimes waves breaking over the hood. This lead
to a significant amount of water in the bilge. It wasn't enough to come up
over the floor board, and I don't think it ever hit the engine fan. Given this,
is it at all possible that water got into the engine oil from the bilge? It
seems impossible to me, but I thought I better ask the experts.

Thanks

Roger St. John
White '63
Seattle


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

 

[wick68355@aol.com]

If you had a lot of water in the back it can get into the engine through the
dip stick. Remember when in water the front of the engine (by the fan) is very
low. It does not take much water to raise up high enough to get in the
dipstick. If you have a cracked head or a bad head gasket your coolant level
will go
down in the radiator and you most likely while be smoking white smoke (not
blue like mine).
Tim Wick


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

 

[rick pung]

Hey Roger, This happened to me a couple times years ago. Both occasions I
too, took in alot of water. Not enough to come over floor boards. The ramp
out of the water was a very steep grade. The only thing I can figure, is
the water ran to the back of the car and went down the oil check hole, past
the dip stick. I have put many miles on since those incidents with out any
troubles. Rick
----- Original Message -----
From: <rogtwo@aol.com>
To: <amphicar-lovers@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 21, 2003 10:32 PM
Subject: [amphicar-lovers] Water in oil


> It's my turn for a technical engine question.
>
> It appears I have water in my ENGINE oil (quite a bit of it). I had
recently
> changed the oil, and there was no water in it prior to my last outing. If
> this were any other car, I would know coolant was leaking into the oil,
probably
> from a bad head gasket or cracked head.
>
> But, before I jump to this conclusion, I thought I better ask. Is there
ANY
> way that lake/bilge water can get into the engine? I was in the water for
4
> hours or so, and there were sometimes waves breaking over the hood. This
lead
> to a significant amount of water in the bilge. It wasn't enough to come
up
> over the floor board, and I don't think it ever hit the engine fan. Given
this,
> is it at all possible that water got into the engine oil from the bilge?
It
> seems impossible to me, but I thought I better ask the experts.
>
> Thanks
>
> Roger St. John
> White '63
> Seattle
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> THE AMPHICAR-LOVERS LIST
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Before posting requests for information, please check the List
> Archives:
> http://www.escribe.com/automotive/amphicar/search.html
> For more information about this List and other available services
> visit:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/amphicar-lovers/
> To UNsubscribe from this List, just send a blank email to:
> amphicar-lovers-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> Any other issues may be addressed to the List owner (Mike Israel) at:
> amphicar770@yahoo.com
> This list is provided as a free service. Please support our sponsors at:
> http://www.growerflower.com/default.asp?id=41762
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>
>

 

[Steve Behnke]

I also had an early experience w/water in my oil.
It was before I had restored my car so I had taken on
quite a bit of river water.... the water found it's way into
the oil via the dipstick hole... the sealing washer was in
place as well but didn't help.

Change your oil/filter and I bet things will be fine.

Steve
'64 Red

 

[Marc Schlemmer]

Roger,
6 months or so after getting my car back on the road with a fresh engine
overhaul, I noticed water in my oil, too. I was of course disgusted, and
imagined the worst....but come to find out, all I needed to do was to
re-torque the head bolts, and the problem was solved. No more water in my
oil! Owners manual says to do it after the first 500 miles....so I guess
they knew what they were talking about!

Good luck!
Marc Schlemmer.