Evinrude 15 HP 4 stroke with milky oil + water out of exhaust

Hey everyone! I'm new to the forum and already coming up with a thread

Right here I have an Evinrude / Johnson 15hp 4 stroke (E15RL4SSE), bought it very cheap from someone who didn't know what to do with it (and I like this as a project!)

The Engine starts, and works, idling is not great but could be a carb settings. I replaced oil and filter because the oil was white / milky and when draining the first that came out was a good bit of clear water! Next to that I cleaned the carb and opened up the casing etc.

First things first; the water bubbles a lot when running, which means that the exhaust is in the prop, right? I haven't opened the lower unit yet.

There is also an exhaust above the waterline (crankcase ventilation?), and there's both water and air coming out of it.

Here I've got a (Youtube) Video of the problem!: https://youtu.be/ibsbaew1RNg

With the fresh oil getting milky, I think there are a few options; blown head gasket, blown powerhead base gasket or a frost-damaged engine block. It could also be a
I have no idea how to tell which one is blown, since there is no longer a powerhead base gasket available ('unavailable at every shop, already emailed them), I don't want to open it up to replace it anyway. I could just replace the head gasket but that runs me another 90 euro ++ without knowing if it fixes anything.

Ofcourse I could make a gasket with gasket paper or use a liquid gasket (but that wouldn't be as good).

So.. the question; How do I figure out what the problem is?

Thanks for the help in advance!

Wout

Link to parts: https://www.marineengine.com/parts/johnson-evinrude-parts.php?year=2000&hp=15&model=E15RL4SSE

The tell tail should be pushing out a lot more water then that if your in a barrel like you are. Might want to check that first as it’s pretty easy to do. My guess is waterpump is not pushing enough water and the water it does push just gets pushed out the path of least resistance. Could be the head gasket too which isn’t to hard to fix. Few bolts and your home. The base gasket leaks are not dire as that water is being expelled from the unit so it’s leaving anyway. Just my opinion. I’m not a mechanic

Thanks for your answer!

I have just checked the head gasket and it seems fine, I'm gonna leave it in there for now, as it looked pretty good, cylinders looked good too, just a little carbon built up which is also a sign of not having a blow head gasket (otherwise they'd be steam cleaned so to speak ). The oil actually reaches down to about halfway down the tail, so it should be fine, leaving the tell tale for now, if the water flows out the wrong way (into the oil...) its not weird the pressure drops. Also there is a thermostat to help regulate temps.

So.. a little update..

Hoped this last trick would have fixed it, but it hasn't.

Update on the problem; water in oil - a lot, gets milky in a a minute or two running, and actual water coming out of the drain plug if you run it longer (first bit when draining is clear water, then white oil).

What I've done;

1) I've checked the head gasket, seemed in good condition, just left it there.
2) removed powerhead, remade the gasket (damaged when removing the engine), then I saw that the rubber ring between the water tube and the head looked a bit weird, also there was a bit of dirt on powerhead-side of things. I put in a new (slightly bigger, but also a tiny bit thicker gasket) ring, even tried using liquid gasket around the ring to completely seal it, but doesnt work. I dont believe there can get so much water out of the maybe tiny opening there still might be.

So.. still water in the oil.. cracked block?

How can I check that?

BTW: Engine runs quite fine, idles & accelerates good. Really you wouldn't notice anything wrong with it (aslong as you keep refreshing the oil every 5 min of running hehe).

Really need some killer advice here !

Have you tried a cylinder leak down tester on it to see what you get ??

Boobie said:

Have you tried a cylinder leak down tester on it to see what you get ??

Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply!

You meen a compression-like test to see if there's leaks in the cylinders ?
I haven't done that (also haven't got the tools for it) but I'm 99% sure the cylinders are OK, headgasket seems fine and the engine also runs too good to have a problem there. Little carbon buildup but not a steam cleaned piston (so it's as it should be)

If theres a leak somewhere in the block it's between a water and an oil passage.. I was thinking of doing a test like the leak down test but then on the water system (the oil system has a pressure relieve valve). But also the exhaust has a water outlet. Other option would be to rebuild the entire powerhead to find the leak(s), that is what I'm thinking atleast.. Problem is, if the leak is inside the powerhead (e.g. cracked block), I'm not sure there's a way to fix it..