exhaust tube seal

Just a follow up to a prior thread about my exhaust tube seal maintenance.. I have the 1987 Force-85hp.<br /><br />My exhaust tube seal came in from BAM and I also ordered the lifting hook as well. <br /><br />The hard part was taking off all the mounting bolts, linkages, cables, cowel bolts, electrical, etc, just to get to trying to lift off the power head from the lower leg. I threaded on the lifting eye hook onto the stator threads, strung a pulley onto the roof beam and then attached a cleat to another wall post. <br /><br />I had to have my wife and son help with lifting the engine out as it was extremely heavy and awkward to remove. The large pry bar came in handy to force the engine up as they pulled the rope pulley. <br /><br />But once we got it out, behold, as expected, the old exhaust tube seal was indeed completely missing. I cleaned everything up, attached the new seal, used sealant on the block area, and lowered it back down in. Once I got the splines lined up, she dropped back down in and I started attaching all the block bolts.<br /><br />Right now I'm down to reattaching the electrical, cables, linkages, cowel and lower leg rear bolts. If all goes right, I'll be tub testing this week and lake testing this weekend. <br /><br />Boy...what a project...!!

Re: exhaust tube seal

FIngers crossed for you.<br />Sounds like fun is on the way !!

Re: exhaust tube seal

I sure hope so. It seems like I've spent more time working on it vs using it on the water. She ran decent the last time I finished the other maintenance prior to the exhaust seal, so I'm expecting it to purr this time....at least it better...or else its going to be up for sale in a hurry. LOL! If nothing else, I sure have learned a lot about two strokes...

Re: exhaust tube seal

Last night I finished the assembly of the engine including all the lower leg stuff, cowel, electrical, and then the linkages. The worst part was reinstalling that rubber spring loaded tube between the internal housing and the external housing. <br /><br />Its interesting that before I did this my throttle linkages felt smooth and now I can actually feel the clicks when the gearing should engage and the throttle pickup. There aren't any kinks or bends in the linkages, I just think before it might not have been hooked up correctly....either that or this time its incorrect! LOL<br /><br />Hopefully everything go well with the tub test tonight so the Mrs and I can lake test it Saturday.<br /><br />btw: I think the best part of these type of projects is when you get all done and realize you have no extra parts lying around!!

Re: exhaust tube seal

Just another update... last night I tub tested the motor...and she worked!! At first there was plenty of smoke (cough, cough), but that was likely from the engine sitting for so long without running, everything settling in, etc. The idle was a bit too high for my liking as well, but once I backed that down, she sounded pretty decent. I tested the fwd and bwd shifting and she worked. <br /><br />Tomorrow the Mrs and I (the kids might be sleeping in...who knows), will take the boat out for a lake test. I'm still unsure about the cable settings and the idle might be a bit high, but right now she starts right up and appears to have a bit more spunk. Definitely an improvement over last time when she wouldn't even start at the dock.

Re: exhaust tube seal

Well, the Mrs and I took the boat out on Saturday to finally test the exhaust tube seal and the other maintenance we did from the last time we had it out. It was a two steps forward, one step back kind of test.<br /><br />The engine started up fine, held a decent idle, and we were able to take it out and then gradually open her up. It felt smoother from the last time we were out, but still felt as though the top end wasn't completely there. It topped out at around 35 mph which was what it was last time, although this time out we had less weight and the water was a bit more choppy. <br /><br />Then we tested the shutting off and restart, something we were hesitant about doing before. It shut down fine, then started back up right away. But when we went to open her up, she bogged down and died. Then when we went to start her up again, she did the same thing, till eventually she wouldn't even start. Oh great... <br /><br />So I pulled off the cover and started working the choke and other linkages. Finally I started it and she popped and sounded fine. I shut her down and started her back up with the cover on and she was fine. So we drove it around for a short time again altering the speed to fast to medium before deciding to head to the dock.<br /><br />When I got the boat home I pulled the plugs and noticed the top cyl was fairly clean, the bottom two were more blackened.<br /><br />I'm now wondering if the carbs need to be cleaned and readjusted (they weren't cleaned last year or this year) as I'm thinking the choke was sticking before, and I'm also thinking the mixture might be off...probably too rich. The symptom of the restart problem reminds me of a car flooding out problem...where giving it more gas just makes it worse, etc. <br /><br />Anyone have some thoughts?