[harleyman124]

1987 Mercury 8hp..tan ooze coming from idle exhaust ports (both holes) and very smoky. It idles fine, but when revved up it smokes badly. The top spark plug is wet, the bottom one is dry. I swapped the coils but got the same result on the plugs. I adjusted the idle screw, have new gas and the right ratio mix. The reeds look good too. The water pump is working fine...its a little slow to pump initially, but works good once it starts flowing. Any ideas?Added..I have pics of the ooze

[phatmanmike]

send me pics, i have had similar prob, but lemme see before i start preachingphatmanmike@yahoo.com

[harleyman124]

Is this leaking powerhead seals?....Cracked block?...Anyone?....

[Virago85]

send pic to eugene1e@earthlink.net

[andrewkafp]

I have seen a similar post here before, where the gunk came from excessive trolling, and was running out of the 2 exhaust holes.Here is post.. Motor is almost the same as yours.. Vintage wise. http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ul...;f=29;t=011030

[harleyman124]

updated with pics!!!!!

[jimcanniff]

Harleyman,Did you ever figure out what was causing that grey foam to leak from the exhaust?My father has a 1987 9.9 Merc that just started doing pretty much the same thing. The gear oil is leaking from the exhaust like yours but gets sprayed everywhere. Plus there is water in the chamber where we fill the lower unit oil.Any idea would be appreciated, thanks.-Jim