water in V-drive oil?

[Jono]

I'm not sure what to do about this one. I was summerizing the boat and when I pulled the dipstick on the V-drive, there were speckles of water on the dipstick. I drained the oil and it looked fine - it was black and not milky. The speckles ran the full length of the dipstick to the neck. Last year I didn't put much time on the boat and skipped the oil change for the V-drive when I winterized. The drain plugs were pulled though.
Does this sound like condensation or could it be something else? I was planning on putting it in the water and running it until its hot, and then change the oil again - maybe a few times. Is there a better course of action?
How can water get into the drive?

Thanks for any advice
1996 SuperSport

[DanielC]

Condensation!

[j2nh]

I"m with DanielC, condensation. Run it, check it, and I am betting you will find that it is just fine.

[Jono]

Ok. My blood pressure just dropped a notch.

[2000 SAN PYTHON]

I just purchased mine and had to change the vdrive fluid. The oil was completely mixed with water. I spoke to a couple of places, they said that is common to see that. Drain, refill, ride, drain, refill, ride.

[bj25430]

No worries.. I bought mine from a Nautique dealer used, they said they would do a full detail and over look on the boat before i picked it up.. WRONG!.. They sucked! I had milky vdrive oil. I told them i was going to bring the boat back if that didnt make right on it. I got 1500$ of wakeboards and life jackets outta that one. I ended up draining, refil, run, drain refill like 6 or 7 times before it was golden. No probs since. Runs like a champ, and i gotz some sweet boards for the kids! I'd say no prob. I have seen condinsation on mine before, that will evaperate off when you run it real good im sure.

[WakeSlayer]

I just purchased mine and had to change the vdrive fluid. The oil was completely mixed with water. I spoke to a couple of places, they said that is common to see that. Drain, refill, ride, drain, refill, ride.

While I agree with the drain, refill, drain, refill, x several times, and the statement that they say that is "common", it still ain't right. Why is there water in there?

BTW: Python POWER !!

[DanielC]

I think I remember the oil change interval for the Walters V-drive being every 500 hours, and or at the end of the season. Draining and refilling the V-drive was not the easiest thing to do. So it is very possible some people just forget about the "end of the season" part of the V-drive oil change.

[Jono]

i've ran the boat, and changed the oil the oil 2X now. theres no water getting in the oil at this point so it had to be condensation. I've never seen that before!
As far as people having milky oil and dealers telling them its normal - that really worries me. I have had nothing but bad experience dealing with mechanics and this advice seems to fall in line with that. With my limited knowledge, I would say the only way a substantial amount of water can get in there is flooding, or through the oil cooler/heat exchanger. You would think an 'expert mechanic' might raise this issue.
Does anybody know if leaving the garden hose running too long before starting the boat can cause some kind of backfill situation in the v-drive?