Water in top cylinder of 1969 25 hp Evinrude

My problem started a few months ago. The top plug kept fouling and I found water in the upper cylinder. I removed the head and found that things did not look bad. There was no damage in the cylinder or on the piston that I could see.I cleaned all gasket surfaces and replaced the head gasket torquing the gasket to the correct values. Now I am in PC Beach and I am salt fouling the same (upper) plug. Where else could the water be coming from? I can run for a while in the bay by changing/cleaning the plug. Will I do horrible damage to the enging if I continue to use it until I can get home where I can investigate further?

Re: Water in top cylinder of 1969 25 hp Evinrude

Could be leaking in from a defective exhaust cover gasket. Will it hurt to run it that way, water does not have any lube in it, pistons need lube.

Re: Water in top cylinder of 1969 25 hp Evinrude

Yes you can dameage motor with saltwater if the head or block has a small crack in it. It might not show up until the motor gets hot.

Re: Water in top cylinder of 1969 25 hp Evinrude

I noticed several boat service places here. If I could get the gasket, how difficult is it to change. I travel with basic tools.

Re: Water in top cylinder of 1969 25 hp Evinrude

If the block is cracked, this engine is most likely toast anyway. New block are not available and I doubt that it would be cost effective to find a used block and rebuild the entire engine.

Re: Water in top cylinder of 1969 25 hp Evinrude

Take a look at the engine and look at the exhaust cover, does it look like something you can handle with the tools you have?

Re: Water in top cylinder of 1969 25 hp Evinrude

Older motors are hard to find parts for but most places have the basic parts for most motors.Not hard to replace but can not be done in the water.

Re: Water in top cylinder of 1969 25 hp Evinrude

If PC beach means Pensacola Beach go up to Will's Marine in Pensacola and I'm sure he'll have the parts.

Re: Water in top cylinder of 1969 25 hp Evinrude

I am in Panama City Beach. I think that is about 90 miles from Pensacola. Do you know of anyone closer?

Re: Water in top cylinder of 1969 25 hp Evinrude

I have the boat at the condo on a trailer. It is dark right now, but I will look at the cover in the morning. I may have enough tools if I can find the gaskets. This would be a good place to try the fix. It does not seem to be a very big leak so it will be hard to detect in fresh water. If I remove the plugs and crank the motor, no water comes out of the plug holes. The only way I am sure that water is getting in is that there is a small amount of salt dried on the spark plugs that fouls them out. Thanks to all of you for your replies.

Re: Water in top cylinder of 1969 25 hp Evinrude

There are also some good dealers in Panama City, check the yellow pages. A place named Pauls something seems to ring a bell but not sure.

Re: Water in top cylinder of 1969 25 hp Evinrude

There are TWO exhaust cover gaskets. One inner, one outer. Both are OEM part#: 0306164

Re: Water in top cylinder of 1969 25 hp Evinrude

I looked today and decided that this will be a repair better done when I get home. I am not sure exactly how I will remove the 5/16 head bolts that are on the lower part of the cover. I don't have anything with me that will reach them. They are in a recess so ratcheting wrenches won't get to them and a 1/4 inch drive ratchet with a socket is too long. A u joint extension won't reach either. I may have to grind some flats on a 5/16 socket so I can turn it with a wrench. If that doesn't work I may have to start removing stuff. Regardless, it is more than I want to try in a parking lot. At least I can use the boat and trailer to carry the beach stuff home and won't have to ride in a crowded vehicle. Better luck next time I guess. Thanks again for all the information.

Re: Water in top cylinder of 1969 25 hp Evinrude

Update: I got the gaskets replaced. I had to remove the powerhead to get all of the bolts out of the cover so I replaced the powerhead adapter gasket also. There was dried salt and oil mix all around the block next to the exhaust ports. I turned the crankshaft to block the ports with the pistons and carefully vacuumed and scraped all of it away. I put some oil in the ports and reassembled the motor. I ran the motor for about 10 minutes in a tank last night and it runs OK. I removed the plugs after and there still appears to be a few tiny droplets of water on the base of the top plug but I can't be sure. No water came out of the cylinder when I cranked the engine with the plugs removed. I did a compression test. The top measured 110 and the bottom measured 112 so it appears the the engine was not damaged. I found an OE service manual on ebay and it is on the way. I plan on running the boat in fresh water this weekend so I can see how it does under load. I suspect that I may still have a problem. Any ideas as far as how to trouble shoot?