2004 Suzuki DF115 water in oil. 500 hours

[Parrotthead]

I was just reading a post about a guy who had water in the oil in 2004 DF115. I have the same problem and am wondering how the situation turned out? This motor has been well maintained, only has 500 hours on it and has been religiously, flushed after every use in the salt.

Last fall I thought I blew a head gasket (or so I was told by my mechanic) while fishing salmon off the mouth of the Columbia river. I have owned this motor since new and it had always been bullet proof. Well, long story short, I didn't realize there was salt water in the oil for a couple fishing trips, until the motor started running bad. While trouble shooting, I pulled the dipstick and found the engine full of the greasy white crap. I took it to 2 shops here in Portland and found one that agreed to pull the engine apart. I had them rebuild the motor, and valvetrain, complete with new 140 cams and rod bearings. It cost me 3800 bucks. I got the motor back in November and moth balled it till Spring. In May, I took it out a few times, did the break-in proceedures and after about 12 hours run time, found water in the oil again.

Back to the shop to tighten everything and recheck all gaskets. The motor worked fine for 2 short trips. Took the family out over the fourth of July for about 8 hours. Motor worked fine but I had a hard time keeping it running at initial start up. It seemed like fuel pressure, because after pumping the fuel ball for several minutes the motor finally ran. I checked the oil at the end of the trip and guess what??? Water in the oil, about a quart.

I took it back to the shop and they are telling me that their tech has no idea whats going on and Suzuki has no answers either. I was told, "It must be a tiny internal crack in the block or head that couldnt be seen during the rebuild." The owner of the shop doesnt want to put more labor into this problem. So basicly, I have a motor that runs great but leaks water into the oil. I'm screwed out of 3800 bucks. They want to sell me a new motor.. (Of Course).

It seems to me that there is a fine crack somewhere that is misting water into my lube system. Or maybe water in the exahaust that is getting into the system. The problem is, Where in the world is it coming from??? Could the engine holder be the culprit? The mid and upper engine have been pressure tested and hold at 70 and 30 pounds respectively. It seems that it doesnt leak until the motor is really warmed up.

Any ideas will be helpful. Brad.

[mitch]

Damn sounds like you got a problem 500 hours is stuff all but i would be investigate the engine holder as the most likely culprit

Have you googled suzuki holder corrosion as there are early motors that have very low hours like 100 that are having this problem suzuki have changed some of the castings to try and stop this from happening.

One other question did they fit a 140 oil cooler when you had the motor rebuilt as you could get water ingress if that was corroded it will be fitted just under the oil filter

yammys are having the same problem in the 200 and 225 4 strokes.

[Parrotthead]

Hi Mitch. No I don't think they retrofitted the oil cooler. I spoke to the Suzuki tech who rebuilt my motor today. He claims he is aware of the corrosion problem with the engine holder. He said he did a visual inspection of the holder when the motor was rebuilt and saw no corrosion. He replaced and checked all seals associated with the cooling system the last time he worked on it. Could the holder have leaks not visible to the eye? after all the posts I have read about this problem I wonder if he missed something.

I'll ask him tomorrow about the cooler. Could you explain why the cooler might be the problem?

This might be a silly question... But, do you think the dealer that did the rebuild is responsible for finding the problem? As I said before they are claiming they did all the can and expect me to pay to have someone else repair the engine or just buy a new one from them for the discounted price of 8 grand. I really feel screwed by spending the cash to rebuild it and I now have a great running engine with the same problem that caused me to rebuild it in the first place.

[mitch]

Is that a new motor for 8 grand .......... i guess that all the water plumbing is also in the correct position as there is a lot i will find my wshop manual and have a lookif it would be possible ?

[Parrotthead]

thanks again. yes a new df115 for 8 grand. I am not a mechanic and can only assume the shop is telling me the truth about the repairs they have done. I hate to throw that much money into my boat if my motor is repairable. How would one go about finding the leak? it holds pressure and doesnt leak while in the test tank. it only seeps water into the oil when loaded and run hard. any ideas other than the engine holder?

[EricB280]

$8000 is no discount, or at least not much. Here is a retail price list from a dealer as of June 28th, 2010:

Suzuki Outboards