Water coming out of carb

[Larryrsf]

Originally Posted by Destroyer

Larry, I think your hearts in the right place,.... really I do. But I can cite you several examples where people here have made suggestions and you have downgraded or ignored them all. Not saying you're wrong or right, since you know more about your boat, engine and trailer than anyone else here. Just saying that sometimes it appears that you're not so much looking for advice as you are looking for a justification about something you're doing or have already done.

An example would be Thefermanator telling you not to run your engine until you did several things. But you just ignored the advice, threw in a can of carb cleaner and away you went. Now you may not know it, but he and Spareparts are marine engine mechanics. They do this stuff for a living. Others of us are carpenters, welders, engineers, electricians, plumbers, etc, etc. Well, you get the idea. There is a wealth of knowledge here, possessed by some of the most intelligent and downright nicest people I've ever met. When they say jump, the only question you should be asking is how high. And further, if you don't understand something they say, they will try with all of their might to explain the why's and wherefore's of what they are saying until you do understand it. I think that's what Smoke is referring to more than anything.

Please understand, we like having you here. Everyone is welcome and you're no exception. But if you don't intend to follow the advice you're given..... don't ask for it.

Fellas, I told everyone that I asked my CERTIFIED marine mechanic whether I should take it down to the Marina and run it all Summer. I asked whether it is ready for that? And he said it is, reminding me that the carbs should be rebuilt after the season.

I read advice here that had I followed it would have curtailed using the boat this Summer! If I did what some suggested, I would have stopped everything and worked on the engine, or in my case, just waited until a marine mechanic had time to rebuild the carbs. This is July. I would still be waiting.

So I took a calculated risk, a gamble. So far my mechanic, the guy who started that engine and did the exhaustive formal evaluation of its condition, has been right. It runs better all the time. Several others have said "put some hours on it" is the basic cure for years of idleness. Make sure it stays cool with a rebuilt water pump (I did that) and slightly more oil in the gas, and the best fuel conditioner in the fuel. I am doing all of that-- while using the boat this Summer!

So I was obliged to ignore some of the advice I read here. I know it was well-intentioned, but it didn't fit my situation. The theoretical best course may not be the most practical and cost-effective course for an old boat--in June with the whole Summer ahead.

BTW, I am a retired nuclear engineer, age 73. I was engineering crew on several nuclear subs starting with the Nautilus before I finished my nuclear engineering degrees. So even though I may not be very bright, nobody thinks I am stupid. I have a complete shop, enough tools to overhaul a car or a boat engine. I had a metal lathe and a milling machine for a while. I have invented and built prototypes of several things including a baseball pitching machine and a golf swing trainer. 35 years ago I bought an old boat with an Evinrude 75HP outboard on it. I bought the shop manuals and overhauled it myself. It ran! So this is really not my first rodeo.

Larry

[smokeonthewater]

Yep that's right destroyer....

Larry NOBODY here said you were stupid but it's QUITE obvious (or a the very least appears so) that a feller that is asking how to handle problems with his outboard lacks experience working on one...

Just because you post details on one thread doesn't mean someone replying to another thread saw them.

BTW extra oil good additive and just running it is soooooo not the proper treatment for a neglected motor.... Sea foam and the like CAN go a long way to clean up a cruddy carb but all these additives and extra oil actually lessen the ratio of gasoline to air and as such CAN actually compound a lean condition.... Engines with multiple carbs are highly susceptible to burned pistons... One carb can be partially clogged and he others not... The engine can run about 90% perfect but one carb is lean at certain rpm's causing that cylinder to meltdown.

You may well have fully understood all this and decided the risk was worth it to you OR for all we knew you may have been making a terrible mistake from which maybe we could have saved you....

I ABSOLUTELY agree that you are welcome and appreciated here....

That said maybe a simple THANKS guys but I'm gonna........... would be better than multiple paragraphs of 'where the cow ate tha cabbage'

I'm 40 and have been slinging wrenches as a hobby literally since I was about 5. When I was about 7 and too little to pull the cord I fixed a carb problem on a chainsaw my gramps had struggled with for months... At the age of 12 I was given a '53 Evinrude 7.5 with a rod hanging out of the block.... Without any sort of manual or any help other than Dad driving me around I scrounged used parts and JB Weld'ed the block, rebiult the carb, and now nearly 30 years later the engine is still running strong and in regular use.... Those are just the beginning of my expeirence and I have wrenched on everything from dirt bikes to cars to semis to bulldozers n excavators BUT when the gurus here whisper a suggestion about marine engines I take it as law and don't doubt them for a second.

BTW my grandfather was part of pioneering nuclear military vessels and invented something or other they used on some of the first ones tho I don't remember what..... Small world.

[Destroyer]

WOW... Someone older than me.!!! I'm 70 Larry, and I thought that I had the title as the oldest here. Guess I'm in second place now.

And for the record, some of my qualifications are that I also have a South Bend Lathe, and a J head Bridgeport miller, a welder and more tools that I'll ever really need. Oh, and I'm a 1st class machinist, a licensed HVAC mechanic, and a mechanical engineer. I retired from the electric company that brought you 3 mile Island (Although that was not one of my responsibilities [thank God]). My point is I too have been a wrench turner since I was a child. I pulled my first tranny (out of a 53 Chevy) when I was 13, and I haven't looked back since. But when Ferm told me to clean the carbs on my 91 Johnson looper, and Spare told me to change the reeds on it, I did both.. and in the process found that the carbs were melted from a fire and leaking raw gas. Took me almost 3 weeks to get the parts and do the work myself, but that engine is still purring today. Yes, I lost 3 weeks, but possibly saved my life by not having a fire while I was out on the ocean.
So you see, you're not unique, and point of fact, most of these problems pop up around this time of year... because that's when we use our boats. Really, we're just trying to save you time and money... and yes, possibly your life. Red sky's at night.....I'm done.

PS. Oh, and I'm fairly certain that both Spare and Ferm ARE certified also.

[Larryrsf]

Originally Posted by Destroyer

WOW... Someone older than me.!!! I'm 70 Larry, and I thought that I had the title as the oldest here. Guess I'm in second place now.

And for the record, some of my qualifications are that I also have a South Bend Lathe, and a J head Bridgeport miller, a welder and more tools that I'll ever really need. Oh, and I'm a 1st class machinist, a licensed HVAC mechanic, and a mechanical engineer. I retired from the electric company that brought you 3 mile Island (Although that was not one of my responsibilities [thank God]). My point is I too have been a wrench turner since I was a child. I pulled my first tranny (out of a 53 Chevy) when I was 13, and I haven't looked back since. But when Ferm told me to clean the carbs on my 91 Johnson looper, and Spare told me to change the reeds on it, I did both.. and in the process found that the carbs were melted from a fire and leaking raw gas. Took me almost 3 weeks to get the parts and do the work myself, but that engine is still purring today. Yes, I lost 3 weeks, but possibly saved my life by not having a fire while I was out on the ocean.
So you see, you're not unique, and point of fact, most of these problems pop up around this time of year... because that's when we use our boats. Really, we're just trying to save you time and money... and yes, possibly your life. Red sky's at night.....I'm done.

PS. Oh, and I'm fairly certain that both Spare and Ferm ARE certified also.

Thanks. Of course my argument isn't that your and other advise was not correct and useful, but that what some suggested didn't factor in the reality of my boat and this time of year in San Diego. Fact, If I didn't get my boat off that trailer, I would not have been able to rebuild that trailer this Summer. Fact, with no trailer, I remained unable to move the boat out of the water. Fact, If I didn't get my boat in the water and into a slip, most likely I would not have been able to use it this Summer. So I had to risk that the engine was ready to run several dozen hours this Summer. If it blew up, it blew up. I had $100 in boat, engine, and trailer and I have both a fire extinguisher and towing insurance. I have the boat insured for $12k. Is it worth that?

Hence during these early discussions I was obliged to ignore what was undoubtedly prudent advise under ideal circumstances. I was working under far from ideal circumstances. Sorry to hurt anyone's feelings.

BTW, I was an NRC Inspector. Back in 1982, I was sent to 3-Mile Island after the incident. I was one of inspectors who interviewed those operators to learn what actually happened. Then I factored that into my operator examinations at other nuclear power plants over the next 2 years I was in the NRC. We learned how to ensure that didn't happen again!

Larry

[Larryrsf]

Now I am debating whether to take the boat out of the water and try to clean the bottom. Really, what additional damage will be done by more weeks of marine growth on that fiberglass? I keep the engine tilted up and I intend to try to flush it with fresh water after each outing. And certainly the boat will be slower on the water as it drags all that stuff, but so what? The water in the Harbor here is nearly always too choppy to allow comfortable planing by small boats, much less higher speeds. The smartest speed seems to be about 15MPH and 2000 RPM. Even BIG wakes don't pound and scare me or my passengers.

And there are many places I haven't explored yet.

Does anyone really think there is a difference in marine growth damage to fiberglass between one and 4 months?

Larry

[spareparts]

don't know how the growth is where you are at, but down here, this time of year, you have to clean the bottom at least every two weeks or it won't even plane out, worse than that, running the boat with a dirty bottom can overload the engine, I've seen more than one engine failure from a dirty bottom. If you don't have bottom paint or at least a barrier coat, you're looking at blisters by now