1989 force 50hp over heated and cooked the paint on the head cover. Oh NO!

[wildman_wilds]

Lets start off with this. I replace the water pump impeller many many times preventive maintenance every year. I know the water ports weren't clogged. Flushed it thru the thermostat port. I used the boat 2 days ago prior to this event and it worked fine all day. But today I went fishing in my boat on a lake I never fished and I live 8 miles away from the lake. Shocking.

About 15 mins later my force 50 started bogging down and I saw smoke coming from the the motor cover. I killed the motor immediately and pulled the cover. "Oh great I blew the motor" I said to myself. This all happened after I put new spark plugs in. Gap setting was on. Spark plugs were the same as the old ones. I had noticed the paint cooking on the cylinder head cover. The Us motor sticker melted the buzzer didn't go off. What the heck lol. Right then and there I believe I destroyed my motor. Trolled it back to the boat landing and went home. I placed a 55 gallon drum full of water under that Chrysler/Force 50 hp and turned it over and over and over. It will not start. It started to get warm. Took the new spark plugs out and replaced them with the old. Still nothing. I noticed water coming out the side of the cylinder head cover. I blew a head gasket. The head cover bolts were seldom loose as I loosened them up. Scrapped all the gasket material left behind checked the thermostat and that was shot. It was stuck shut. Heat sensor wire burnt up and a buzzer not working. I checked the compression and the compression is still there. The cylinder wall still good and the pistons glide in and out smooth. Maybe I got lucky or maybe not hhmmmmm. I know there are very knowledgeable people on here and I'm just a rookie to the outboards but understand the concept of the way small engines work do to my auto mechanic skills My question is....................... is it possible that I blew my motor and it will never run again due to over heating it. Unless I over haul it of coarse. Should I just put in a new head gasket, thermostat and heat sensor in and call it good. Torque to spec and loosen after about an hour of use and retorque the head bolts again. Can I use red thematex gasket sealer non hardening for a head gasket. Is this worth even fixing? Has anybody had this happen to them? The lake was weedy at the boat landing maybe got debris in the port. I just wanna replace the head gasket, thermostat and see if this runs again it will be a miracle after over heating it. I know over heating is not good. I don't wanna stick any money in this motor if it was destroyed due to over heating. I will just purchase another motor if that's the case. Please help. I want your resources experience and knowledge of this motor.

 

[wildman_wilds]

Re: 1989 force 50hp over heated and cooked the paint on the head cover. Oh NO!

Oh I almost forgot an important question.
Will the motor not start if the head gasket is leaking water. I'm certain it wouldn't due to fouling the plugs from lack of fuel mixture. Would it start and kill right away just curious?
Oh and one more thing that cylinder head cover was so hot you could cook eggs off it. lol!

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: 1989 force 50hp over heated and cooked the paint on the head cover. Oh NO!



Pic of the thermostat?? Is it frozen open or closed??
Drop it in boiling water.See what it does.
Check for spark.
Reinstall the head (new gasket)and check the compression.
Water in the cumbustion chamber,will kill the motor.
Check the impeller again.
Possible you clogged the pickup.
Oh yea there are special muffs for a 89/50.The regular big ones can actually make your motor overheat.

 

[bentle]

Re: 1989 force 50hp over heated and cooked the paint on the head cover. Oh NO!

All you can really do at this point is what jerry said. After you get it back together then check comp. If the numbers are still good then that's a huge plus.
Check for spark on all cylinders.
Pull the lower and inspect the impeller and pump housing. Also is the impeller key way still in the proper place.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: 1989 force 50hp over heated and cooked the paint on the head cover. Oh NO!

ALL gaskets, including the head gasket are installed dry. No Permatex or any other compound is needed. As long as cylinders are not scored and the engine has good compression the repairs will be minor. And yes, it is worth repairing.

 

[jkoppe73]

Re: 1989 force 50hp over heated and cooked the paint on the head cover. Oh NO!

Spark plug gap setting was on? don't these engines use surface gap plugs?

 

[catfishcarl99]

Re: 1989 force 50hp over heated and cooked the paint on the head cover. Oh NO!

i have the exact same motor. an 89 force 50 507Y9b. i did the exact same thing a few yearsd ago. overheated and stopped it. cooked paint just like yours. i didnt blow the gasket though. mine still runs fine. with a new impellor kit of course. below is a pic of mine. i run it in a barrel as the muffs wont work.

and yes. mine is surface gap just replaced them. l78v or ul18v champion. BUHX ngk.

 

[wildman_wilds]

Re: 1989 force 50hp over heated and cooked the paint on the head cover. Oh NO!

What I mean by spark plug gap was on. Using a gap tester for spacing. Referencing it from the old spark plug, which is probably not the proper way. But I could not find any gap specs for this motor online. Heck I'm looking for resource on gaping. Is it 40 or......????? If you know please let me know. I'm pretty sure this isn't a surface gap plug or I'm mistaken. This is the old spark plug that came out of the outboard. I'm not certain if the previous owner knew if these are right but the boat ran on this for a whole season just fine. Is this the right spark plug for this particular out board? I'm certain the motor will run just over heated and water went into the cylinder keeping it from running. It wants to start again but water mixing with the fuel probably prevents it from firing up. As for the thermostat it was stuck shut and wont open with boiling water. It appears all corroded and the spring stuck in place. I think this is the problem due to over heating lack of water cooling the power head and the gasket was old with the cylinder cover bolts loose adding to the malfunction. If this doesn't work I found a complete power head for 375.00. Bolt it in and wire it all up and its good to go. But first I'm going to try and see if I can get this out board going again. I'm positive it will. I really appreciate every ones response and help. I'm learning out boards as I go. This is a great experience for me

 

[wildman_wilds]

Re: 1989 force 50hp over heated and cooked the paint on the head cover. Oh NO!

All you can really do at this point is what jerry said. After you get it back together then check comp. If the numbers are still good then that's a huge plus.
Check for spark on all cylinders.
Pull the lower and inspect the impeller and pump housing. Also is the impeller key way still in the proper place.

The key and impeller are good. The impeller is brand new. I did everything the way it was intended. No debris in the pickup. I did notice that the lower unit is a little milky gear oil. So I will be reinstalling new seals. It has to be that bad thermostat.

 

[wildman_wilds]

Re: 1989 force 50hp over heated and cooked the paint on the head cover. Oh NO!

View attachment 142949View attachment 142950

Pic of the thermostat?? Is it frozen open or closed??
Drop it in boiling water.See what it does.
Check for spark.
Reinstall the head (new gasket)and check the compression.
Water in the cumbustion chamber,will kill the motor.
Check the impeller again.
Possible you clogged the pickup.
Oh yea there are special muffs for a 89/50.The regular big ones can actually make your motor overheat.

I never use ear muffs. I have a 55 gallon barrel modified to fit my lower unit. I would say the barrel is 3' 5" when filled with water plenty of water to drown the lower unit. Hit the tilt trim up slide that barrel under it and tilt it down. Pull the plug on the barrel let the water drain out and reverse the process to remove the barrel.

 

[wildman_wilds]

Re: 1989 force 50hp over heated and cooked the paint on the head cover. Oh NO!

Found out this spark plug is recommended
NGK Standard BUHX 2522 surface gap

 

[wildman_wilds]

Re: 1989 force 50hp over heated and cooked the paint on the head cover. Oh NO!

Found out this spark plug is recommended
NGK Standard BUHX 2522 surface gap

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: 1989 force 50hp over heated and cooked the paint on the head cover. Oh NO!

Before you start replacing seals,get a pressure test.
It could be just the drain plug seal.
They should be changed when you change the oil.
I use Mercury drain seals when I change them.
The original Chrysler/Force chrush seals are supposed to be a single use item.

Your right it sounds like the thermo is bad.
You can test the impeller!!
Remove the lower,take the top off the pump.
Leave the impeller on the shaft.
Try turning the impeller(gently) with a pair of chanel locks while the prop is locked.
Sometimes the brass inside the impeller will slip under pressure,locking in place and no water flow.

 

[catfishcarl99]

Re: 1989 force 50hp over heated and cooked the paint on the head cover. Oh NO!

Found out this spark plug is recommended
NGK Standard BUHX 2522 surface gap

yep those are the correct plugs.

this pic is my cooked painted head lol. its ran fine since the ordeal a few seasons back. having some issues with spark though now after i had an accidental short but the motor runs fine.

 

[catfishcarl99]

Re: 1989 force 50hp over heated and cooked the paint on the head cover. Oh NO!

NGK plugs BUHX also cross to BUHW_2 thats what i just got at o-rileys. $1.99 each. surface gap. stock # 5626.

 

[tater76]

Re: 1989 force 50hp over heated and cooked the paint on the head cover. Oh NO!

If you used bent electrode plugs as in your pic, with the newer style electronic ignition you are asking for problems. It will indeed run this style, but can cause piston damage from excessive heat. This could have added to your overheat issues.

 

[wildman_wilds]

Re: 1989 force 50hp over heated and cooked the paint on the head cover. Oh NO!

Hi everyone. I just want to thank you all for support and helping me figure out what is needed. Very knowledgeable people in this forum. Thanks!
I have noticed the NGK BUHW_2 and BUHW have different gaps. BUHW_2 runs hotter than the BUHW of what I read about.
In my old and original power head It had a compression of 50 in 1 cylinder and 70 in the lower cylinder after replacing the head gasket. I used the BUHW in my newer power head I picked up for 350.00 complete. Runs great.Thing looks almost brand new. Im using my origanal power head that I blew up for parts. Possibly rebuild the blown up power head myself. It was a pain in the butt getting that newer power head back on the leg without the gasket moving on me lol. Also I know a guy at a local marine shop in my area and found out he had many new parts for the force even that one lower exhaust gasket for the leg to the power head. So if any one needs that upper and lower gasket set let me know Arnie has more. I will give you his number and believe me you cant buy just that one gasket set online. You have to buy the whole power head gasket kit for 80.00. This gasket I bought was the upper and lower gasket set for 17.00.
Boat is running again and now out on the lakes again Thanks everyone

 

[wildman_wilds]

Re: 1989 force 50hp over heated and cooked the paint on the head cover. Oh NO!

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