water in bottom cylinder (force 120)

[pigster30]

I have water in the bottom cylinder in my 90 120hp force L drive also. Cannot seem to find where it's coming from. Head gasket looks good, cylinder wall looks good, compression is good, and everything else looks good. What causes the water to get in there and what should I do about it? The only thing that I have figured out is that the water is coming through the exhaust ports in the cylinder wall.

 

[eurolarva]

Re: water in bottom cylinder (force 120)

Look at the link I povided<br /> LINK <br />Part numbers 25. Note there are two. the one closest to the powerhead. There is the powerhead then the exhaust gasket then a stainless steel plate. My guess is the stainless steel plate has a hole in or the gasket is breeched somehow. I am not sure about force but on the chryslers the exhaust gaskets can be removed without taking the head off the motor. Check the bottom screws first. They may be too long to get out without the removal of the head.<br /><br />I hope this goes better for you then it did for me. Three of my bolts were totally corroded and ended up breaking. I ended up having to use JB Weld and re tap and have not gotten a good seal since. Then again my motor is 23 years older then yours.

 

[pigster30]

Re: water in bottom cylinder (force 120)

Eurolarva, I replaced the headgasket and did a compression check with the results being 128/130/135/135 for each cylinder repectively. Hooked up the rabbit ears, started up fine, ran for about 3 minutes and then checked the #4 bottom cylinder. There was water in it, not alot after only 3 minutes, but none the less, water was coming back in. It has to be coming in from the exhuast somehow. I believe the block and cylinder walls are fine based on the compression and no visible signs of any cracks. I believe the next step is to pull the engine, any further advice? Thanks.

 

[redlabel]

Re: water in bottom cylinder (force 120)

I had water in my #2 cylinder. Like you, not a lot but there. I had good compression but decided to replace the head gasket as well (gave me a chance to inspect everything). When I posted on this site, someone advised me they had pulled water into their cylinder via a broken reed valve.<br />Plan to pull the carbs this weekend after checking with the local shop and finding the new reeds are in stock. Might be something you want to look at.

 

[pigster30]

Re: water in bottom cylinder (force 120)

What exactly is a reed valve? Did you find anything more out this weekend that you can pass on? Thanks.

 

[redlabel]

Re: water in bottom cylinder (force 120)

The reed valve is located in your intake manifold right behind the carburetor. It serves sort of the same function as valves in a 4-stroke, but instead of a cam opening and closing the valves, it operates on air pressure, closing after ignition to keep out the exhaust, opening to pull in the fuel mixture.<br /><br />I pulled mine, and on the number 2 cylinder reed, two of the "fingers" were not flat on the reed block. According to the manual, they need to be replaced. Will talk with my local repair shop Tuesday when they open to see what they would charge. They had 8 reeds in stock on Friday. That would be enough to replace all of the reeds in all 4 cylinders.

 

[pigster30]

Re: water in bottom cylinder (force 120)

Did you have to pull the engine and tear the block in half to replace the reed valves or is it doable without taking the engine out? (from reading your e-mail again, it appears you only had to pull the carbs, is this right?) Let me know once you replace the reed valves and if this stopped the water from coming into the cylinder?<br />Do you have the same engine as me, a 1990 Force L drive 120hp Brandname: US Marine Power (it's in a Bayliner)