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2000 Mercruiser 4.3 2bbl

So I didn't change my oil last fall, but the engine ran great all summer, I winterized the same as I do every year, drain the water from all the drain plugs, reinstall plugs, pull hoses off the thermostat housing, fill everything with antifreeze, reinstall hoses, then I run the engine with earmuffs on but I pump about ten gallons of antifreeze into the muffs until nothing but pink antifreeze comes out of all exhaust ports. I then pull all the plugs and drain again.
This spring when I brought it out of storage I decided to change the oil so I put on the muffs ran the water and started the engine to warm up the oil (I have to pump it out of the dipstick) got up to about 110 F and started to suck out the oil, it seemed to be a dark grey color, not what I'm used to seeing and I only pulled about 4 liters out, didn't seem to be any excess levels. I haven't run the engine again since but I did change the oil again just to be sure. Any comments if this is an indication of a problem or any steps that I can take to further check the engine. As a side note I do have the original "Batwing" style of exhaust manifolds.
Any comments are appreciated.
 
A coupes of things, hard to tell not seeing the oil, may have gotten moisture in there and that is the color. I think you’re better off changing the oil as part of winterization to get any contamination out of the engine.

at this point I’d just keep an eye on it and if the oil gets contaminated Look for issues then.

on the anti freeze you probably can save a few bucks by just drains the water out, I back flush from the thermostat housing Into the engine and down the water supply from out drive hose with a couple of gallons to get any remaining water out. Ten gallons is really belt and suspenders approach, not gonna hurt anything but your wallet.

the bat wings have a tendency to leak and generally is recommended to replace them with center riser style or dry joint. Is there Any evidence of water in the exhaust ports or combustion chambers?
 
Never really seen any water in those areas. For an update I have changed the oil twice now, just to get as much of the old oil out. I let it sit for a couple of days, checked the oil level tonight, it was at the full mark on the dipstick. Ran the engine in the driveway on the muffs until it was up to temp. (I know you shouldn’t run it that long on muffs) let the oil settle after running and checked the level again, no level increase and oil looks clean.
 
Yay hope it stays that way!
Change the oil when you winterize so that the acidy oil isn't sitting in there over the winter. In spring when you recommission change it again to get rid of any moisture that's been accumulating. That seems like a lot but the engine will be happier.
 
Never really seen any water in those areas. For an update I have changed the oil twice now, just to get as much of the old oil out. I let it sit for a couple of days, checked the oil level tonight, it was at the full mark on the dipstick. Ran the engine in the driveway on the muffs until it was up to temp. (I know you shouldn’t run it that long on muffs) let the oil settle after running and checked the level again, no level increase and oil looks clean.

No problem running it that long on the muffs, just keep the rpm down and make sure you have adequate water supply. When I de-winterize I always idle mine until it hits 170 (i have a 165 thermostat) and make sure not only that it gets hot, but also doesn't overheat. Just checking that the thermostat is working ok.

I agree with O2 that you are probably ok just keep and eye on it. and change the oil in the fall. I do the oil/oil filter, drive lube, and fuel filter, and hit the grease nipples every fall. Last boat was 25 years old, current boat is 15 years old now and I tend to drive them pretty hard in terms of water sports and WOT.
 
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