Water in Engine

I'm new here, and I've got an interesting problem with a new-to-me Yamaha 115ETLH. You'll have to bear with me. Besides basic mechanical knowledge, I really know next to nothing about outboards.
The boat had been parked for the past year, and birds had nested under the "hood" of the engine. So I brought it in and cleaned it up real well with compressed air and a shop vac.
With the intention of running it, today I pulled all the plugs, cleaned them up a bit, sprayed a bit of oil in each cylinder, put the plugs back in, pumped the bulb, put the water muffs on it, and hit the starter. It fired right away, but wouldn't stay running for more than a couple seconds, then wouldn't restart. I'd repeat the procedure,(clean plugs, oil cylinders, etc.) and it would run again for a couple seconds.
I noticed no water coming out the "pee hole"...lots coming out holes in the lower end, but none up top. At first I had thought it would come out when the engine was running once it pumped it up. But it didn't. A bit of investigating, and I noticed the pee hole was plugged. I pulled the hose off it, and right away had water pour out. I cleaned the pee hole and put the hose back on it.
Trying to fire it again, I noticed water leaking out the front plastic cover over the carbs. I pulled the cover off, and sure enough, there seems to be a bit of water coming out around the choke butterflies...wtf?!?
Pulling the plugs again is showing "milkshake" on the plugs, indicating water mixed with oil/fuel.
So how is water getting into the engine? Is it possible the plugged pee hole has caused a gasket somewhere to blow out? If so, where?
Any ideas are appreciated! Again, bear in mind I really don't know much about this so use small words with me...lol.
Thanks!
-Mark

Re: Water in Engine

Also, don't know if it matters or not, but apparently bees had made a nest inside where the water is drawn into the motor. As soon as I put the muffs on it and turned the faucet on, they started coming out all over the place...I guess I disturbed their hibernation.

Re: Water in Engine

Most likely a head gasket leak. Another possibility is lots of water in fuel from condensation. A plugged telltale (pee hole) will not cause a gasket to leak. The bees, birds and other creatures doing their business on the gaskets and engine internals may have contributed.

Generally a lack of winterizing will cause gaskets to dry out and leak, fuel to spoil, corrosion to form, varnish and gum to form and generally a poor running engine in the spring.

Try to get all the fuel out of the carbs, disconnect the fuel supply. Clean and reinstall the plugs. Put the ears back on and crank to motor again. With the fuel system disconnected, if water continues to appear the head gasket is the most likely cause of the leak. If no more water appears the Milkshake is probably in your fuel system.

Re: Water in Engine

Well we got it fixed! Turned out to be condensation in the fuel. We pumped probably close to a gallon of water out of the fuel tank. After draining the carbs and filter and she fired right up and ran perfectly!
Now, should I pour some Heet or methyl hydrate or something in it to "remove" some of the moisture from the tank? Or is this not safe....?

Re: Water in Engine

When I had water in my cylinders due to a hole in the exhaust plate, my mechanic gave me a spray bottle filled with Marvel Mystery Oil and had me do as follows: Remove spark plugs, hold open throttle butterflys, crank engine while spraying the oil into the carbs throats. Do this outside over dirt, or have something set up to catch the oil that is going to come flying out of the spark plug holes, because it's a heckuva big mess. The water, if left in there, will do a lot of damage. Next time you run it, there will be tons of smoke for a short while. Then just use it and get it warmed up to dry out any traces of moisture present. Worked for me.

Re: Water in Engine

I ran it for quite a while....definitely got it warm. I won't still have water in the engine will I?
I was mostly asking about those fuel additives you pour in the tank. They won't harm a 2-stroke will they?

Re: Water in Engine

Seafoam is one of the best additives for a two stroke. If you use the search function and enter seafom treatment you will also see a way to use it to help clean carbs. You will need a small 6 gallon gas tank you can connect to your motor with a concentrated solution. After the treatment it will be a good additive to continue to use. It's available most everywhere...especially at auto stores. Welcome aboard, and good luck!

Re: Water in Engine

Markystang said:

Well we got it fixed! Turned out to be condensation in the fuel. We pumped probably close to a gallon of water out of the fuel tank. After draining the carbs and filter and she fired right up and ran perfectly!
Now, should I pour some Heet or methyl hydrate or something in it to "remove" some of the moisture from the tank? Or is this not safe....?

Click to expand...

How old is the gas and how much do you have? I was in a similar situation as you (I did run my engine every few weeks though). Also, do you know if this gas had ethanol in it or not?
If it were me, I would drain the fuel out and start fresh. I had about 40 gallons left in my boat (although I did treat mine with startron) so I would mix 10 gallons into my truck (25 gallon tank) when I filled up.

Re: Water in Engine

I just bought the boat in December, so I can't be 100% sure as I'm just going from what I was told by the former owner. He says the boat was not used at all this past summer, but was used the summer before('07). He told me that he ran the engine 4 times over the summer on the earmuffs, and used Stabil in the gas then winterized it in the fall.
So the gas in it is probably a year and a half old, and the gas guage reads full. As for the ethanol, again I can't be 100% sure, but I kinda doubt it. I don't think it's real common out this way yet.