What should you do when your car's engine oil is contaminated with water?

Causes of water contamination in engine oil

Car going through flooded area

When a vehicle passes through a flooded area, water will enter the exhaust pipe and enter the engine oil tank, causing the engine oil to become contaminated. The most common sign is that the vehicle stalls and sits in a puddle.

Camshaft cover gasket is loose

The cam cover gasket is the part that connects the cam cover and the engine parts, preventing engine oil from leaking out. A loose cam cover gasket will create a gap for water to enter the engine, engine oil tank, causing water contamination of the engine oil.

Worn, damaged radiator

A worn or damaged radiator can cause coolant to leak and mix with the engine oil.

During the rainy season, prolonged rain has caused many incidents of gasoline and engine oil being contaminated with water. Illustrative photo

Poor quality oil

One of the harmful effects of using low-quality oil is that the piston and cylinder walls in the combustion chamber quickly wear out. From there, water will leak through those worn gaps, mixing with the engine oil, causing the oil to become contaminated with water.

Therefore, when changing oil, car owners need to learn carefully about the type of engine oil to choose a good, quality product to help the car operate smoothly and stably, especially to limit the oil from being contaminated with water, avoiding unwanted consequences.

How to fix water contaminated oil

There are many reasons why engine oil becomes contaminated with water. Therefore, to find the best solution, you must know the specific cause. Below is how to fix engine oil contaminated with water in each case.

Cam cover gasket open

If the engine oil is contaminated with water due to a loose camshaft cover gasket, you need to replace the gasket. Make sure to tighten the camshaft cover properly and with enough force, then change the oil.

Car going through flooded area

Here's what to do if your engine oil gets contaminated with water after driving through flooded areas:

If the engine is not broken, you can crank the engine yourself, change the oil yourself and open the spark plug. Then you can start the car to push out any remaining water, at the same time use the air nozzle to dry it, reattach it and continue to start the engine.

If the engine is badly damaged and cannot be started, take the car to the nearest repair garage for a mechanic to handle it.

Above is a summary of the problem of water contaminated oil and how to fix it. Hopefully readers can draw useful experiences to have a timely response to this problem.