Pontiac Repair: Water in the oil, crank case, liters of water

Question
Mr Puccio,

My 17 year old daughter accidentally put 3 2-liters of water into the oil of my son's 2003 Pontiac Grand Am.  (Friday, the car got hot, she hadn't watched the guage, I added some water, she drove it later, the "add coolant" light came on, a friend told her to add water), I had noticed that this car's radiater cap was not in the usual place, my daughter did not notice.  

After putting the water in, she went to bed and drove the car home the next morning, (about 1 mile to home).  The car sat there all day today, when I asked her tonight how the car ran, she told me about the water, and I knew immediately she put it in the wrong place, I checked the dip stick, it shows thinish-brownish (not white) and not all the way up the dip stick.

My dad says have it towed to a shop tomorrow, drained of oil & change oil filter, have them flush it, repeat in a few weeks.  Can you tell me if you think we should do or expect anything else?  My husband immeditely assumed she had ruined the motor.

Any input or advice is appreciated.

Answer
if they did a "flush" it's not necessary to do the "mystery oil" I would look at the oil again in a few days and make sure you run the car the next few days untill it hot to burn off what ever water may be left in the engine crank case.
Hi Penny:

Wow NOT GOOD. If you cought it quick enough which it sounds like you did then you may be okay. I wouldn't wait a few weeks to change the oil again. do it like tomorrow or the next day. water in the crank case oil is NOT good at all. you may want to put a product called "marvel mystery oil" in the crank case and run it untill it's hot and change the oil agai. The water distroys the ability of the oil to lubricate the engine properly and it will cause bearing damage. that mystery oil is a cleaner of sorts just follow the directions on the can. after you change the oil again drive it a few days untill it really hot no short trip driving at all the long driving will boil the rest of the mositure that ther may be remaining in the oil out through through the PCV system on that engine. then check it a few days later and see if it looks okay if not change it a third time. One last thing why was the coolant low in the first place??? Ther must be a leak in the system that prompted her to add water in the first place... Good luck :)