1960 Johnson 10hp Rebuilt Lower Issue

[jgaier]

I just resealed the lower on my 1960 Johnson 10hp QD21, put it in a barrel and started it up. I ran it in neutral most of the time. I started to see the water getting milky and saw what looks to be gear oil mixed with water. I posted pictures because I pulled it back apart and it is a mess. Does this look like gear oil or what is going on with this? I opened the drain plug and it looked like clean gear oil.

Thank you.

 

[hardwater fisherman]

Oil in a test barrel is normal. Probably just the oil you mixed with gas coming out the exhaust.

 

[jgaier]

Ok, were you able to look at the pictures? I am wondering if what i am seeing is normal. Just making sure I don't have something more serious going on because it is not running well either. I just rebuilt the carb.

 

[hardwater fisherman]

Not able to see your pictures.. And if the motor is not running well then the oily discharge can be worse. Like if running on one cylinder it will be dumping more unburnt fuel out the exhaust.

 

[racerone]

So----" not running well "------What trouble shooting has been done ?----It could be running on 1 cylinder.----Float valve not working.----Ruptured diaphragm in fuel pump .----Low compression ----Scored cylinder.-----Blown head gasket.---Bad lower crank seal.---Weak spark.-----Carburetor adjustment.-----And on and on.

 

[jgaier]

Here is a new link for the pictures if the first is not working. https://geoflight.exavault.com/p/Iboats
As far as troubleshooting i have changed the plugs, looked at the coils through the flywheel viewing area and they are not original, checked spark and they are both firing and rebuild the carb. I put the needles at the initial starting points. I just started it for the first time after the carb rebuild and I could not get it to idle if put the throttle below start no matter what i did with the low needle. Then I saw all the milky oil and stopped messing with it.

 

[hardwater fisherman]

That looks like unburnt fuel to me. Many people assume the oil in the water is gear oil. I guess they forget about the oil they mixed into the gas tank. If you can get to it running better it will run cleaner and if on a boat even better.

 

[F_R]

That has to be one of the most often asked questions. As already said, it is unburned fuel/oil mix. No doubt about it. Think about it,, every morsel of the oil you put in the gas goes through the engine as it runs. Some burns and turns to smoke, and the rest goes out the exhaust, where it mixes with water and emulsifies into a foam like your pictures show.

Now, the question becomes, why so much? Partly because it is not running right, perhaps carburetor not adjusted correctly. Maybe not running on both cylinders, where ALL the fuel sent through that non-firing cylinder goes through unburnt. Other factors include barrel cruising, the particular type of oil used, motor and air temperature, etc.

Get it out of that barrel and onto a boat on the lake, get it adjusted properly and it will be much cleaner. And take the kids along.

 

[jgaier]

Thanks guy I appreciate your expertise and helping a young guy out. I will remember that next time. I appologze for asking a question that is asked so often as i know that is very annoying on support forums. It obviously alarmed me cause I just spent a lot of time rebuilding that lower. It makes since because I do have it mixed 24:1 so there is a lot of oil in the fuel. I will get it on the lake and see what I can do for a carb adjustment.

One question: the two needle adjustments in the front are the only carb adjustments correct?

 

[Trilogyinc]

It has a low speed and high speed adjustment. Low speed is the top..1-1/2 turns out..high speed is the bottom..3/4 turns out..I have a 1958 and they run good when tuned in.

 

[Trilogyinc]

Starting points anyway*

 

[hardwater fisherman]

Thanks guy I appreciate your expertise and helping a young guy out. I will remember that next time. I appologze for asking a question that is asked so often as i know that is very annoying on support forums. It obviously alarmed me cause I just spent a lot of time rebuilding that lower. It makes since because I do have it mixed 24:1 so there is a lot of oil in the fuel. I will get it on the lake and see what I can do for a carb adjustment.

One question: the two needle adjustments in the front are the only carb adjustments correct?

If everything else checks out okay do not forget about the water pump. Also the thermostat. My neighbor has a 1960s 6 hp that he uses on a private lake at his cottage.. His neighbor at the lake complained about a small oil slick from his motor while trolling. The motor runs well.. He asked me if I had any ideas.. So we checked the thermostat and found it stuck open. Put in a new thermostat and it took care of the oil slick.

 

[jgaier]

I actually put a new water pump impeller in it, i forgot to mention. I have the high and low adjusted as Trilogyinc mentioned. I will look into the thermostat.

 

[racerone]

High and low speed mixture are set to allow the motor to start and keep running.----Then the wise owner MUST fine tune them when motor is on the boat and warmed up.----A working thermostat must also be in place !

 

[jgaier]

I will tune it once I am on the water. I also did that process before I rebuilt the carb to see how it would run and it is really straight forward by turning in until it sputters and then back out about an 1/8 turn.

 

[jgaier]

Took a look at the thermostat this evening and it is totally shot. The seal around it was not working and peeled away in spots and the thermostat was stuck open. Hopefully this is the source of my abundance of fuel not getting burned because the engine is not getting up to proper operating temperature to tune the carb correctly.