[wormboy]

This engine runs great, but the EPA is about to shut me down-- there is excessive oil smoke at all speeds but it is obnoxious at idle or trolling speeds. I have been advised by two different mechanics to switch to manufacturer (Evinrude/OMC/Quicksilver) 2-stroke oil, and am going to try this, but I don't bet it's gonna take care of this-- I can't believe it could make that much difference. I only use tcw-3 oil at 50:1-- I mix it myself since the prev owner removed the VRO system from this engine.
There is also quite a bit of black oil residue that seeps dwon the front of the motor along the mount, etc., which ends up in the water and then providing a nasty black waterline along the stern. I removed the plastic skirt last night to see if there were any loose bolts, etc., but all seemed pretty tight.
All the ignition components are new, and it runs and starts beautifully-- except for a few initial gasps and stalls on a cold start. Recently, however, it has stalled acouple of times at minimal engaged speed (trolling).
I wonder if there is a leaky gasket somewhere that allows some fuel/oil mix to end up in the exhaust which then causes the smoking? Can the powerhead/exhaust gasket cause this, and if so, how can this create the excessive unburnt fuel/oil?
I greatly appreciate any advice or help that is out there regarding this problem!! I apologize if this is a frequent topic, but i couldn't find it in the search I tried, and I am new to the forum.

[dsinger]

Seafoam

[emdsapmgr]

It is possible that you have a bad powerhead base gasket on the engine. While OK to run, it causes a lot of exhaust smoke to enter the lower cowling, and reenter the carbs throught airbox. Also, the black tarry exhaust soot oozes out and down the midsection. Not an uncommon problem on this engine. Be sure that you get the thicker gasket with the metal sandwiched in between, not just the paper one. 2-3 hours and you can resolve the problem.

[wormboy]

Thanks, embsapmgr-- this seems like an easy repair, but I've never yanked a powerhead before. Is there anything more to it than disconnecting the linkages, etc and pulling up on the head from the flywheel? How many bolts are we talking--- I have a seloc manual, which is pretty useless for this.
thanks beaucoup!!!

[emdsapmgr]

You are on track. You will need to remove the lower engine covers, loosed the lower cowl to get to the powerhead bolts. Also the fuel, starter cables, probably the red plug, throttle/shift linkages. There should be 12 bolts/studs you will need to deal with. Carbs and electrical system stay on the engine. Use a 3-leg puller on the flywheel to lift-don't remove the flywheel. You will need to lift it a foot to get to the point where you can clean the old gasket surfaces prior to installing the new gasket. Torque at 12-14 ft lbs. You may want to clean the soot and oil residue prior to rebolting. Good luck.

[wormboy]

thanks for the reply and the additional help-- I will take a close look at this and make sure things look "linear"; I'm not a bad mechanic--- just good enough to have a lot of little things go wrong to make sure no job stays simple!!
I appreciate your help-- this forum is exceptional.