Signs of a bad head gasket - '89 Mariner 200

[FMP]

Where's the eggnog coming from drooling out the carb?

[Motv18]

Mist from the water leak getting sucked in.

Try fogging it through the carbs with sea foam.

Ive seen something similar on a submerged. With the eggnog. Left his plug out and barely got it out in time flooded the cowlings and died halfway up the trailer.

[tristanlee85]

When you swapped the plugs did you see a different look on them after swaping.

I would start honestly whit number 1 and 2 pulling the wire and idle not changing means it wasn’t working.

I pulled the plugs, cleaned the oil from them using brake cleaner and put them back in. Let it idle for 5 mins on the hose and checked them, both were wet and looked very similar. Also, when I remove the plug wire and put it back on, you can hear it arcing to the plug right before I reconnect it. It is getting spark. Just a matter of is the spark strong or is it not getting enough fuel.

How much are head gaskets , how many places could it be sucking or seeping water? Process of elimination.

I would think he would have clean plugs if he were pulling in water

Right, my initial thought was head gasket, but all plugs are pretty consistent with oil residue. I would expect a clean plug and/or piston if I was pulling in water. After the good compression, I am ruling that out.

7 pounds of water pressure at idle on the hose? Whats your water pressure when your running wide open

Usually between 15 - 20psi. If I am idling in the open water, then it is down around 3psi or so. Enough to have a consistent flow through the telltale.

[tristanlee85]

Where's the eggnog coming from drooling out the carb?

Mist from the water leak getting sucked in.

Try fogging it through the carbs with sea foam.

Ive seen something similar on a submerged. With the eggnog. Left his plug out and barely got it out in time flooded the cowlings and died halfway up the trailer.

What dripped out from the intake was not an eggnog mix like you would normally get mixing oil and water. It looked more like an oil and gas mix with how fluid it was. There was not a lot, but enough to make me notice it and [i]think[i] that I might have been sucking in water.

[tristanlee85]

I did a good bit of testing today on the ignition components. Using the table here (https://www.outboardignition.com/page39.asp, very last row on that page is my engine), I verified the correct OHM reading across the stator, trigger, and ignition coils. The only thing I couldn't test was the DVA because I didn't have the proper tool, but I have an adapter coming tomorrow that will help me read that voltage.

If the voltage checks out, I am going to assume carbs is the next thing. I can grab a bottle of Sea Foam and put it through the carbs with the cover off. I tried that tonight with starter fluid to see if that would make a difference. My expectation was that if it wasn't getting enough fuel, the starter fluid should give me an increase in noise. I felt like it actually bogged the engine though, meaning it had enough fuel and I was starting to flood it.

[FMP]

So it's running hot 225° , maybe spraying enough to stall and hydrolock it so it won't turn the crank.

[tristanlee85]

So it's running hot 225° , maybe spraying enough to stall and hydrolock it so it won't turn the crank.

I suppose it is possible... but I don't trust the gauge reading. The buzzer from the control box would be going off well before then if it really were 225*. And my infarad reader shows the cylinder head temp is significantly lower than the gauge reading.

It's 65* here right now and I just walked out and turned the key forward and the needle is reading 125*.

[FMP]

But the lock up happened, so where's the entry. Adapter, cracked jacket, head, spray from leg?

[tristanlee85]

When I get my DVA meter for checking the stator, I'll be doing the tests on the water. Assuming that it immediately cuts out and shuts down during the hole shot, I'll pull the plugs and see if any fluid runs out. I didn't have the tools on me last time on the lake to verify this.

[FMP]

Nothing ign will stop it from rotating. While your at it cut the heads a bit. A complete disassembling might be the way to correct any hidden issues.

[Dave S]

Could be lower crank seal pulling water......pull off the small hose that runs to the top bearing and see whats in it. cracked exhaust plate?........1/2 9/16 7/16 inch wrench and ya got a pile of parts to inspect......

[tristanlee85]

Well, "good" news. It is not the engine. The water that I said was coming into the cowling was the poppet valve and foam seal that came with my new CDI rectifier. It had deteriorated within a year and was letting water out under pressure. Fixed both of those with some clear silicon RTV.

The spark/ignition issue was a minor problem. I didn't seem to be getting strong spark on cylinders 1 and 2. Understanding how the trigger works, it lead me to believe that was faulty. Because I already had a new rectifier on there from CDI, I decided to go all out and get a new stator, trigger, and 2 new switch boxes. Didn't want to leave anything to chance that could fry existing components. After removing the trigger, I can see cracks all through it. If it actually wasn't faulty, I believe it was coming up on the end of its life.

The bad news is that the lower unit is what was locking up. This explain why it felt like under load it just wasn't getting enough fuel and would slowly seize up. If it were water in the cylinders, that would lock up immediately, or at least bend a rod in the process. It also explains why after waiting a bit, I was able to start to turn it over again. The load at full throttle was enough heat the bearing up to seize it and as it cooled and contracted, allowed me to turn it over again.

Sadly, I spent too much time and money focusing in the wrong area. And I did not check my oil like I should have so shame on me. Luckily, I called a mechanic today to explain the situation and brainstorming he was telling me about a customer of his that had a similar issue - everything ran fine and idle and low throttle, but once opened up things seized. Sit in the water for a bit to cool down and it freed up. Glad he shared that experience or I never would have found this.

Now to fix the lower unit...

[tristanlee85]

What used to be gear oil is water with a little bit of metal.





Hard to see zoomed in but those bearings are all chewed up.

[tristanlee85]

According to this diagram, I don't see anything retaining the pinion gear down inside the gear box. I have the retaining ring (#17) removed and see that the bearing (#16) is destroyed. I assume it is a press fit down in there and I should be able to now pull the shaft out. I don't need to remove the carrier bearing assembly first do I? I seems like the drive shaft would prevent that from being pulled since it would be caught on the pinion gear.

[rock]

You must remove carrier so you can get to the nut holding the pinion in place.

Rock