The grey oil/water sludge

[Warrencasey]

We had a water pump seal failure and now the engine is full of this nasty oil/water sludge. We are having problems with pumping it out of the oil pan (we have the Moyer Oil Change Kit installed). We tried two different systems for pumping out the oil, but sadly the sludge is just thick to pump.

Is there something we can add to the sludge like mineral spirits???

Once we get the new water pump on we can crank the engine over to mix the sludge with whatever.

[Al Schober]

So glad I never had to deal with that!
Mineral spirits are expensive. I'd try kerosene. Do not use gasoline.
Getting it to mix is going to be impossible. I think I'd dump in a gallon (or until it overflows somewhere) and let it sit for a while (a day?), then pump it out. I think I'd take the cover off the transmission and pump out from there - if you can get a hose to the bottom. Alternative would be the pipe plug under the carb/manifold. I like those vacuum pump out units, but you'll likely need a larger hose than the one that fits the dipstick hole.
I'd worry about clearing the pickup screen for the oil pump. I'd pull one of the plugs for the oil passages (perhaps the one for the pressure sender) and use compressed air or pump in kerosene to clear the screen.
After the kero soak/pumpout, I'd add two quarts of oil and a quart of kero (bring it up to the LO mark on the stick) and start the engine. Make sure you get oil pressure. Let it idle until it gets warm, then pump it out.
Then I'd go to straight oil to the LO mark and see how it looks. Repeat as needed.

[edwardc]

+1 on Al's excellent advice. Kerosene or Varsol is the way to go.

[joe_db]

MMO may also work.

[Al Schober]

Just thinking further - you may be able to get some agitation of the initial kero fill by using an air hose. Get some bubbles going in there to try and get some circulation. Sure would be nice to get some heat into the sludge, but I can't think of anything clever. They used to boil water in wicker baskets using hot rocks. Immersion heater through the hole under the carb?
Joe suggested MMO - might be better than kero for the oil mix when you start it up. Just don't run it under load. Do try to get the temps up - you may have to pinch off a coolant line. Again, watch oil pressure - if oil pressure goes south, the oil screen is likely clogged. Shut down and regroup.

[Sam]

Here in the Midwest we have smaller big box chain called Menards [based out of Wisconsin, menards.com]. While walking through the other day they one left of a 110 volt plug in magnetic engine block heater about the size of thick pack of cigarettes for about $35. Seems like it might be a safe and convenient way to heat up the block while working on it.

[joe_db]

Good idea.