Oil and Water mixing after de-winterizing

[shmeeny]

Before the freezing weather hit this winter, I was pretty sure I got all the water out of the heads, manifolds, and block.

However, when I started up my boat this week (warming it up to do an oil change) a freeze plug in each head popped out and the cylinder block water seal plate (on front of the block by the driver seat) was leaking slightly. When I removed the water seal plate, oil and water came out, which seems pretty bad. My dip stick also looks like the lightest brown chocolate milk you've ever seen. So I started pumping out the oil and it looks like this...

Oil pumped out so far:

https://goo.gl/photos/wqYYk6ofvzJatjp69

The water seal plate, after being removed, looks like this:

https://goo.gl/photos/CF2rt3godyJ3WTxD7

When I run the engine water comes out of that hole and is totally clear, however it seems like oil finds its way back in once shut off because it starts to look mixed again.

I also re-drained the manifolds and block and the water coming out of those drains is completely clear, no oil. The engine also seems to run just fine, no stutter, temperature regulates just fine, etc.

So it would appear I didn't do a very good job of getting the water out, but I'm not ready to toss the engine out just yet because that is a ton of money. I'm going to do a compression test today and flush the block with new oil, but my gut tells me I'm pretty much out of luck. Can anyone think of other things to check before calling the engine a total loss?

Thanks in advance, and thanks everyone involved here for the wealth of information. This site is amazing.

[wakejunky]

OUCH!!! Doesn't sound good. Especially with it popping out the freeze plugs. That would indicate that, not only was there water left in the block but as far up as the cylinder heads. how much water came out of the block when you winterized it?

[shmeeny]

Quite a bit, but clearly not enough

I talked with Capt Rick on the phone and it seems like there is a good chance the block is cracked. Luckily he also had the advice to talk with my insurance company, and it looks like they might be able to cover this.

Big thanks to Capt Rick for taking the time to talk with me about this!

[shmeeny]

Looks like insurance will only cover $500 of freeze damage, so that's not very helpful. Does anyone know if a used GS 400 motor could be swapped in, assuming that the heads, marine grad alternator, etc. are all taken off the old motor and swapped on to the GS 400 motor.

I'm not sure I want to shell out the money for a full replacement engine since the boat isn't even worth all that much more than what that costs.

[wakejunky]

I was actually going to recommend you do just that. LS400 or GS400 from 1998 to 2000 is the same engine, mostly. The only difference is that the marine version has stainless steel head gaskets. Trust me I've been a master tech at Toyota/Lexus for over 18 years. I've rebuilt the marine version for a fellow site member, I was surprised to find the head gasket was the only stainless gaskets. The water pump gasket and all of the water cross over gaskets, exhaust, etc. were just plain automotive versions. I noticed you didn't have a fresh water cooling system (by your pics) so I didn't recommend it. you could always add one ( may have to make your own kit) or just realize that it "may" be an issue at some point, although ive seen my fair share of lexus running straight water with no ill effects. These engines are plentiful in wrecking yards due to the fact they are so reliable, could easily pick one up for $500-$1000. Don't be afraid of the Japanese market engines either, their also the same.

[shmeeny]

I thought hard about the LS/GS 400 option, but both Capt Rick and my wife encouraged buying the correct thing first

So I've got a brand new setup coming from Capt Rick. I'll try to do a GoPro time lapse video of it and a writeup in case anyone else here finds themselves in this situation.

[lax28_19]

A little late since you completed your purchase but I did find this when looking for other parts - https://seattle.craigslist.org/est/pts/6109909034.html

[shmeeny]

Wow that's a smoking deal. My only concern with those is dropping 2.5K on a motor from a random person on Craigslist with no credibility. While it was quite a bit more expensive, Capt'n Rick was absolutely awesome to work with and I finished the install last night.

Time to put it in the lake tonight.