50 oil leak

"I have twin 5.0's. One ru

"I have twin 5.0's. One runs great at 5500 psi at cruise. the other does about 4k psi at cruise and struggles to stay at idle and taps loudly when accellerating. At cruise, it runs ok except when a solid alarm sounds and the engine loses a few hundred rpm's or so. I took a long cruise yesterday and found about 2 quarts of oil in the bilge- I assumed from the problem engine but nothing obvious on the engines. Also, the problem engine has about double the oil capacity on the dipstick. Any help would be appreciated. I am going to drain the oil and re-fil and change the plugs- assuming they are fouled."

STOP RUNNING IT AND GET IT FIX

STOP RUNNING IT AND GET IT FIXED. You have water in the block unless someone overfilled w/oil. The noise you heard was a lack of lube. to the engine--it was pumping a mix of water and oil. Check the exhaust mans. and risers for cracks and bad gaskets. Rust trails between the water jackets and exhaust ports is a telltale sign of how it's getting in the block. Pull the spark plugs and see if there is water in the cylinders; may be head gaskets.

"Ok. I will check the plugs an

"Ok. I will check the plugs and change and I will also drain and inspect the oil. Something else I forgot to mention- I have an unusual amount of water coming into my bilge recently. I thought it was my drain plug as I am having issues with it, but now I am thinking it might be a bad boot or something. The engines only have 175 hrs and the boat is never kept in the water. It is flushed and run on the trailer to keep things working. I clean the outdrives and spray 6-56 after every use. There is no corrosion at all. Will the plugs and drained oil be enough to tell me if there is water intrusion? I am trying to avoid pulling off the manifolds if there are other ways. Would the dipstick show a water issue? Thanks for your help."

""...found about 2 quarts

""...found about 2 quarts of oil in the bilge... Also, the problem engine has about double the oil capacity on the dipstick."

I'll bet the oil in the bilge was pushed out of the engine by the intrusion of water in the block--oil floats on water and as the level rises in the block the oil must go somewhere; out the dipstick or breather vents, etc.

Water won't show on the stick since the stick has to travel through the oil to get out. You have a serious problem that needs immediate attention; it may be as simple as a gasket but it will RUIN YOUR ENGINE!!!"

"Well, I got home and drained

"Well, I got home and drained all of the oil with an electric pump. It was all black and looked like normal oil with no water. I then checked the oil drain hose with a mirror at the oil pan and it was lose with fresh oil all over it. I am pretty sure that is the source of the leak. Now I have to see how in the world I am going to reach it and tighten or replace as needed. This still does not solve the lack of ability to idle and rough operation. Tomorrow I will take the plugs ou to see if they might be fouled? Any further suggestions?"

"Let the "OIL" you pum

"Let the "OIL" you pumped out sit and see if any water settles out. How did you get twice the oil in the block? You are lucky if it's just oil.

"This still does not solve the lack of ability to idle and rough operation."

Too much oil in the block interferes with the crank, rods, blowby gases, etc., the oil foams and won't properly pump or lube the engine, also will run rough."

"You know, it's funny. Whe

"You know, it's funny. When I drained it, it looked to be about 4-5 quarts but the stick showed a heck of a lot more. I checked this morning and the oil still lookes thick and black. No milky or foam appearance. could be timing? I will refill with oil and change all plugs tomorrow and see what happens. Yeah...thank god it was the oil drain hose!!"

Sometimes we all see more than

Sometimes we all see more than what's actually there. I check my oil level on land and on the water to verify one against the other.

Basic tuneup may be all that it needs. Let us know what the plugs look like. Check the timing.

"i know it sounds dumb, but se

"i know it sounds dumb, but see if your waste oil bucket has a layer of water in the bottom. Keep us posted.

Loose drain plug is a nice problem to have.

The clicking may have been air/foam in the lifters... which will go away once good hot oil is put to it... providing you have good oil pressure."