scooper321
Well-Known Member
So I changed my oil this past weekend. Both engines and my gen. Engines were fine, nice and black. My Westerbeke 8.0BTDA generator, not so much. It’s always been black and pure, but now it’s more like coffee with milk in it. Consistency is fine - no jelly or anything But the color seems to signify water in the oil. The gen seems to run fine. But obviously this is concerning.
We did have an over temp shutdown event this summer. Lost a couple fins on the impeller and they clogged the flow. Didnt notice at the dock - it seemed fine when we left. But shortly thereafter the gen over temp alarm went off. Took a minute to figure out what the alarm was. By the time i did, i immediately shut off. It had already shut down, however. Temp reading on the gen meter was over 200. i don’t recall the exact number, but may have been around 220? We let it cool down and didn’t run it again until I inspected the impeller and fished out the lost fins. New impeller seems to throw water ok. And no other issues with gen the rest of the season. Noticed the raw water pump (original, old style) was leaking so I bought a new one, but haven’t installed it yet.
So whatever the cause, I know it’s not good. Diagnosing this is beyond my knowledge, patience, or equipment. But what am I realistically looking at? Blown head gasket? Cracked head? Cracked block? Like I said, it continues to run well. No leaking (other than at the pump) of anything. It’s just the oil coloring. Naturally, I’m not leaving it this way. I want to get it addressed before the winter, because I dont want water in the engine over the winter. Just looking for a little experience from the forum on what I might be looking at (and what I should ask the mechanic).
Thanks
We did have an over temp shutdown event this summer. Lost a couple fins on the impeller and they clogged the flow. Didnt notice at the dock - it seemed fine when we left. But shortly thereafter the gen over temp alarm went off. Took a minute to figure out what the alarm was. By the time i did, i immediately shut off. It had already shut down, however. Temp reading on the gen meter was over 200. i don’t recall the exact number, but may have been around 220? We let it cool down and didn’t run it again until I inspected the impeller and fished out the lost fins. New impeller seems to throw water ok. And no other issues with gen the rest of the season. Noticed the raw water pump (original, old style) was leaking so I bought a new one, but haven’t installed it yet.
So whatever the cause, I know it’s not good. Diagnosing this is beyond my knowledge, patience, or equipment. But what am I realistically looking at? Blown head gasket? Cracked head? Cracked block? Like I said, it continues to run well. No leaking (other than at the pump) of anything. It’s just the oil coloring. Naturally, I’m not leaving it this way. I want to get it addressed before the winter, because I dont want water in the engine over the winter. Just looking for a little experience from the forum on what I might be looking at (and what I should ask the mechanic).
Thanks