Water in Cylinder, wet plug

[surfsidewood]

I have a 1990 Evinrude V6 150. I've been having trouble when starting the motor whether it's hot or cold. I found that the primer solenoid handle had a small crack in it and was leaking fuel, so I rebuilt that. Once I get it started it will idle for a while then die when I try to put it in gear. Makes it a real pain at the ramp! Last time I had the boat out it would not run above 4300 RPM's. (motor running cool and never overheating) I did a spark test with the gap set on the spark tester @ 7/16 and found that the middle cylinder on the port side had weak spark. I changed the coil on that cylinder, now spark is strong all the way around. While I was changing the plugs I realized that the plug in the top cylinder on the starboard side had water on it, and the next one down was loaded up with gunk. All of the other plugs looked good. I put the plugs in and let it run for a while and same thing. Water on the top plug. My question is, ,what would cause water to be getting into the top cylinder? From my auto experience my first thought is a head gasket, but I'm new to the whole two stroke thing. So just wanted to make sure I was on the right track. The person who owned the boat before me recently replaced the t-stats and impeller. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Leglav8s10]

Re: Water in Cylinder, wet plug

I have a 1990 Evinrude V6 150. I've been having trouble when starting the motor whether it's hot or cold. I found that the primer solenoid handle had a small crack in it and was leaking fuel, so I rebuilt that. Once I get it started it will idle for a while then die when I try to put it in gear. Makes it a real pain at the ramp! Last time I had the boat out it would not run above 4300 RPM's. (motor running cool and never overheating) I did a spark test with the gap set on the spark tester @ 7/16 and found that the middle cylinder on the port side had weak spark. I changed the coil on that cylinder, now spark is strong all the way around. While I was changing the plugs I realized that the plug in the top cylinder on the starboard side had water on it, and the next one down was loaded up with gunk. All of the other plugs looked good. I put the plugs in and let it run for a while and same thing. Water on the top plug. My question is, ,what would cause water to be getting into the top cylinder? From my auto experience my first thought is a head gasket, but I'm new to the whole two stroke thing. So just wanted to make sure I was on the right track. The person who owned the boat before me recently replaced the t-stats and impeller. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Water in the cylinder(s) would probably be a bad head gasket. Water in the cylinder will loosen all of the carbon up and whatever junk doesnt blow out with the exhaust can circulate in the crankcase and end up in other cylinders. I would check the head gaskets, and if it has signs of leaking replace it. Torque the head bolts to proper spec!!!! Then I would get a can of Johnson Engine Tuner spray and follow the instructions on the can - this will remove a LOT of the carbon thats built up in the engine. Excessive carbon can make the rings stick causing the fuel pump to not operate properly. (Most Johnson/Evvy's use a pulse fitting on the bottom cylinder to drive the fuel pump - if the rings are stuck on this cylinder, the fuel pump doesnt get enough vacuum to pump enough gas/oil.)

 

[mikesea]

Re: Water in Cylinder, wet plug

What the last guy sais ,AND,understand ,it is important that the torquing be done in progression,starting in center and working outward in a circular pattern,240 INCH LBS,not ft lbs.Make sure all bolt holes are clean,its a good idea to chase the threads preferably using a tap before installation,I also sugget oiling the bolt threads,you dont want something to give a false torque like dirt at bottom of hole,look for a blown look between the 2 problem cylinders,progression would be .tighten til sng,then torque to 50,125,200 215 ,230 ,240,you can do in less increments,the concern always is stripping,be sure to feel as you torque,I believe the book is max of 240,but there is a lesser maybe 230to 240,but do know 240 max.The most important is the eveness.If you tink that at 220 a bolt may pull if you go anymore,just torque all to the 220.Im likely giving more info than nec.and hope not to confuse,i rebuilt many powerheads ,and stripped many headbolts,an old boss told me about the feel ,as you torque ,especially on older engine.Yours is likely not a concern

 

[surfsidewood]

Re: Water in Cylinder, wet plug

Can never have too much info! I learn so much from these posts and appreciate the advice. Just went and bought the head gasket, head cover gasket, t-stat gasket and grommets. Will get started on it as soon as I finish watching the US beat Ghana in the world cup. Is there any other possible areas for water to leak in to the top cylinder? I just want to cover all my bases before getting into it. I read something about the exhaust cover gasket leaking water into the cylinders also. Could that be true in my case? Thank you guys for the info.

 

[mikesea]

Re: Water in Cylinder, wet plug

Just in those cylinders is a %99 head gasket.Did you overheat the eng.? If so you may want to check for warp.Easist way I find.a piece of marble abiut 5 in wide by 11 ,wrap a piece of 80 grit wet or dry sandpaper and pass it over the head ,nice and evenly,after a few passes check to see where its shiny,if it flat ,it shouldt take too many passes to hit the whole surface.If you didnt overheat it,you probably OK.Its not a bad idea to check though.One other test is ,compression test,you can get one at an autoparts store.My mother and dad live in Indialantic,i'll be there next week.Im sure you'll be OK after head gasket

 

[surfsidewood]

Re: Water in Cylinder, wet plug

I'll try that once I get the head off. I've never overheated the engine but who knows about the guy who had it before me. Hopefully it's straight and everything will be fine. I'll let you know after I get done.

 

[surfsidewood]

Re: Water in Cylinder, wet plug

Ok, just got done with the head gasket. When I took the head off I couldn't believe how bad the gasket was! I attached a picture. You can see where the gasket has deteriorated and was leaking water into the cylinder. I've never seen a head that bad before. Got it all together and fired it right up on muffs. The true test will be tomorrow when I put her in the water. From the looks of this side I am definitely going to change the other side as it is probably not in much better shape. I'll make a post tomorrow after I run it for a bit. Thanks again for the help.

 

[surfsidewood]

Re: Water in Cylinder, wet plug

Took the boat out for about five hours today and it ran better than ever. No wonder why I was having trouble starting it; It was running on 4 cylinders. Now I have another weird problem that I will have to start another thread on. This motor keeps breaking starter gears. This is the third starter in two months, but that's for another thread. Thanks a lot for the advice. Look me up when your in Indialantic and I'll buy you a cold one.

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: Water in Cylinder, wet plug

You may have solved your problem. If you have water in the cylinders, you may have had a hydraulic lock. That's enough to cause the starter problem you describe.