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had water in the engine, removed transmission plate with 4 bolts to get oil out, put in 3 quarts then ran it for 15-20 minutes then repeated for a case of oil so flushed 4 times with fifth oil still in there. engine was smoking bad before flushing the oil, every flush it got a tiny bit better. it sounds like the plug to be removed is behind my electric fuel pump so i went through the tranny. i have great compression in all 4 cylinders. oil pressure gage is on the fritz but it is holding temp at 150-160 idle 160-165 idle under load (in drive) is the white smoke and oily discharge from the remaining water in oil? will it burn off or do i need to do more flushing?
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please help as i am totally stumped and have read every post and response in every forum on here, i know one of you have had the same problem before. -
How did the water get into the engine?
Have you done a compression test?
BillComment
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previous owner new jack about a4 and cranked it for an hour with the seacock open with no spark, thats how it got in there. compression is good in all 4 cylinders, 110,110,120 and 120 or so. replaced all electrical and fired up, no gas so fixed that problem and fired right up. when i got the boat i changed the oil 3 times. last weekend i changed the oil, ran it for 15 min, changed the oil, ran it for 15 min, changed the oil, ran it for 15 min,changed the oil, ran it for an hour or so and while the changes seemed to help the smoke go away and lessen the oily discharge (ok sheen is more like it hardly there but can see it) it is still smoking a little. added 1/4 quart MMO to be safe, put 1oz in each cylinder. now what???Comment
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I'm guessing you don't really know whether the white smoke was always there, or whether it is a consequence of the water intrusion.
Laying that aside for a moment, removing the water contaminated oil via the reversing gear is probably not a 100% effective method, meaning that you're not really starting with 100% fresh oil after each change. You may be in much better shape than you think towards getting the engine in top shape.
The oily sheen is sometimes seen at startup in engines that have accumulated a lot of "crud" (as Don calls it) in their water lift mufflers. A good flushing might be in order.
Now back to the white smoke. You should be able to glean a lot of info from the forum. Look for discussions about build-up in the hot section and problems with the diverter valve.
BillComment
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bill after some researching i found a post where don says:
It is first necessary to clarify the difference between steam and white smoke. White smoke will linger behind the boat for several boat lengths, while steam will dissipate quickly - normally within 5 to 10 feet. White smoke is almost always caused by oil entering the combustion chambers and burning along with the fuel mixture.
i am seeing white smoke not steam i am 100 percent certain. I am also pretty sure I still have about 5% water in the oil, it is not a milkshake but it has a little grey haze to it. Is it possible that the smoke is caused by the oil being thinner due to being 5% water therefore letting it seep past the rings and burn in the combustion chamber? If this is a possibility I am pretty sure that is my problem, what is a better way to remove the oil to insure I get it all out? I have been removing through the transmission plate with 4 screws and a hand pump. thanks for all your responces, blue freedomComment
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forgot to mention that i was removing about 3 quarts or so each time, isnt the a4 a 4 quart system? if it is i was removing 75% each cycle thus the water still in oil.Comment
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ok before i went sailing for my first time yesterday i removed my new plugs with 3 hours on them and they were sooty as heck, dusty oil buildup, wire brushed them all then went out. lots of white smoke when revving, only use the motor 5 times, out of the marina, once for a test, twice to turn 180 deg., and once back into the marina. sailed 30 miles round trip to anacapa island and back. the engine was very reliable, allways started first crank, was reliably smokey as well. i feel the engine is performing at 95% but the white smoke still needs to be addressed, please chime in if 5% water in oil would cause this problem as well as if you have a better oil draining technique than i do. i want to go to santa cruz island next weekend but dont know if i want to until the smoke issue is resolved. thanks, bluefreedomComment
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Actually, as you are starting out on this several hour run, loosen the distributor hold down bracket and slowly rotate the distributor a small amount in each direction to see if you can increase your RPM. If you can, retighten the hold down bracket at the point of highest RPM. This will fine tune your ignition advance and may help clean up the plugs and tendency to smoke.
DonComment
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I think before you do anything else, you ought to motor at least a couple hours steady at a nice high power setting. It seems to me that many of your symptoms are simply from not exercising the engine enough.
DonComment
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sounds good don i will report back after i do.
captain rickComment
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ok so I used the motor for about 4 hours under load last weekend and here is what i observed. white smoke coming out of where you fill the oil, at 1200 rpm it was light but enough to fill the cabin with light smoke, at 2000 rpm it was much thicker in the cabin and i had to hold my breath to get in there. After these observations I realized the packing gland was too tight and loosened it until it seemed to not bind the shaft. The smoke in the cabin was allmost gone after that but it was still there a little bit. Exhaust still has white smoke coming out, it seems like it is less now but i really cant tell all i know is it is still smoking enough to be embarassing. the whole experience above the temperature was 160-175 and it was only 175 when the packing gland was too tight, at idle after that it was 160 and under load at 1600 rpm it was 168 or so. what should i check now?Comment
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You seem to be down to a chronic case of blowby, even though your compression values appear to be quite good. I'm attaching a short guide on the cause and treatment of blowby for you that should be helpful.
DonComment
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just a thought, i am using 10 w 30 oil, if i put in a thicker oil would it help? whats he heaviest oil that can safely be run in an atomic 4?Comment
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In hotter climates, many folks use 10-40 oil.
DonComment
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