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Your spark plugs can tell great stories. Listen to them often.
Since the beginning of the season I have been running mixed fuel in the tank as well as the VRO hooked up. OMC states that you should do this when ever the VRO has been disconnected and reconnected which I did over the winter during my refurb. Well I finally ran out that tank I was having a bit of hesitation when going to WOT to put the boat up on plane. The boat would not go to WOT immediately but, it would do it over about 5 seconds. During Cruising and idle speeds the motor performs flawlessly. Starts on the first turn of the key, idles steady, and never knocks, chokes, or sputters. While up and on plane it never skips a beat either. I thought it must be the plugs all gummed up with the extra oil and/or the fuel/water filter needing replacement.
I probably have at most 15 hours on these plugs since last June and I check them about every 15 hours anyway. I do this because you are able to tell a lot just by looking at the plugs.
So that evening I when I got home I pulled the plugs and found one plug PERFECTLY clean while the others where oily. I had a feeling that something was surely wrong. I was not 100% sure what it was though. My 1st thought was carb for that cylinder had gone bad. I am pretty good with engines however, I do not know everything so I called my father who was originally schooled as an aircraft mechanic. He knew right away the head gasket was leaking into this cylinder. It was clean because the water was getting into the cylinder and boiling into stream and cleaning the cylinder. So I called Lockemans and talked to the mechanic who stated the same thing. He also told me to trace the outside of the motor where gasket is. I did and found a little bit of sea water that evaporated on the block.
What causes this??? Typically over heating. However I have never overheated the motor since I have owned the boat. It also has had and still does have a steady strong stream of water coming out of the pee tube. I look at it as just one of the joys of owning an old boat. Oh well at least I caught it in time and it can get fixed. However I can not get it fixed before our family vacation. Thank God my Dad will have is Montauk with us.
BTW - Lockemans quoted me at most 3 Hours at $74 per hour and $35 for parts. No to bad I would say.
That price sounds about right.
I replaced my head gaskets on my Evinrude 150.
Gaskets were about $35 to $40 each.
It took me about 1 hour to do each cylinder head and a little extra time to clean a few things up.
It is a very simple thing to do unless there are problems removing the head bolts.
Well yesterday I ended up taking my boat down to Lockemans Hardware and Boats (www.lockemans.com) in South East Detroit to have the head gaskets replaced on my 235 OMC. Unfortunately I had found out the head gasket was leaking a bit to late for the motor. I got a call from Dave at lockeman's telling me that there was a problem and I should come down and take a look so we could decide how we are going to proceed. So I headed down to have a look.
When I got there it was very clear to see where the gasket had let go. Thanks to this the cylinder had overheated and the rings where reduced to shavings which in turn scuffed the piston pretty bad. Dave quoted me $2500 - $3500 for a complete rebuild of the powerhead, carbs, water pump, new coil packs, etc., etc. Well I do not have that kind of money just laying around so, my first though was, well I should be able to sell the boat as is for what I owe. But then I quickly realized what a waste that would be. So Dave and I talked and I came to the decision that I would that the boat home and put a plan together of what to do with the motor. Seeing the work I have ready done to the boat and through talking he felt I could rebuild on my own. He said so long as I bought OEM parts through him he would answer any questions and give any help he could. Which I feel is very fair.
So I took the boat home and parked it in the drive way. I spent the evening (which was my wife and I's 4 anniversary) thinking of how I was going to tackle this problem. The plan right now is to tear it all down myself and have Dave at Lockemans rebuild my motor to a complete short block while I do the rest. The bummer is the boat will be out of service till next year. Sure I could have it done sooner but I have my commitments to many major jobs on our house and I have to honor that.
I actually am looking forward to the rebuild just for my knowledge however I just wish it could have waited another couple years. I have only been able to use the boat 4 times since I finished the rebuild of the deck. Oh well, it is just the joy of owning an old boat.
I will take pictures this weekend of the damage and post them. Look for a complete article on the rebuild of the motor to come. I plan to document this just like the floor rebuild.
Jeff,
I don't know what to say about this turn of events - - except - -
the week begining August 6th my family is away so I plan to use my 22 alone that week. The boat is 3 hours north of the Hwy 407 and Hwy 10 intersection. I forget how far that is from Detroit.
Why don't you come up and I can show you and your wife around Northern Georgian Bay. Day trips are easy and there is a wonderful inn called The Little Britt Inn http://www.zeuter.com/~lilbritt/~lilbritt/ for you to stay at.
