1997 40hp Force water in top of motor?

[357bubba]

Just bought a 97 tracker with a 40hp force on it. Have only ran it a couple times. Shame on me, the second time I ran it slap out of gas. Ever since then it hasnt run as well as it did when i first bought it. especially on cranking and recranking(have to give it a lot of throttle to keep it running till it gets into gear then itll run/idle pretty well) I did get the local shop to fix distorted fuel pump valves and clean the carburator already. Anywho, while a buddy and i were working on it we popped the top off the cowling and noticed what appeared to be water collecting in the bottom of the plastic housing that holds the top of the motor(unsure of the correct name). He said there should never be any water in there. Not sure if it was there when i bought the boat or not. So the question; should water be getting in this area of the motor or not. Its technically not the motor but just in the housing that hold the motor wires etc.

new boat owner.

 

[roscoe]

Re: 1997 40hp Force water in top of motor?

Generally no, there should not be water in the cowl.

Dry it up and try to determine where it is coming from.

Check around the head, sparkplugs, thermostat cover, and the water jacket. Most likely a gasket.


Welcome to iboats and keep us posted on what you find.

 

[357bubba]

Re: 1997 40hp Force water in top of motor?

Thanks ill look close.

it also doesnt crank as easy as it did before i ran it out of gas. any idea what thats about. Originally it would start instantly, and stay cranked. now i have to throttle it alot to keep it running. even if its been running for 15-20 min and is plenty warmed up. if i turn it off its kinda tricky to get it started again.

Thanks

 

[dkonrai]

Re: 1997 40hp Force water in top of motor?

have you checked the compression? might be a bad head gasket? check to see if water is leaking below the head onto the cowling.

 

[tater76]

Re: 1997 40hp Force water in top of motor?

You probably sucked up sediment into the carb when you ran it dry. Try cleaning the carb, take it apart, inspect needles seats etc for junk in and on them. I have had water in the pan before, my cowel is not a watertight fit, and upon a quick decel the wave behind me will sometimes just kiss where the cowel and pan meet. I have seen a little water aroound my shiftrod too, where it goes down through the plate into the leg. If its from outside getting in I would not be too concerned, inside getting out is another story. I think dkonria has a good point, you might check the head for leaks?

 

[357bubba]

Re: 1997 40hp Force water in top of motor?

Update. Im a newbie to all this if you cant tell.....Took it out yesterday to see where the fluid may be coming from. (keep in mind i just picked it up tues from shop having carbs cleaned and fuel pump diaphram fixed. Ran it tues and it took a lot of revving of the throttle to get it to crank cold and after it was warm when i trailered it.) so wanted to run it again and see if it was any better. by myself so i didnt get trailer in water far enough, hopped in boat and it fired first turn then cut off. so i went through cold start protocol. it fired, i put it in reverse, but not in water far enough to get it off trailer. i put it in neutral to hop out and push backwards a little off trailer. it cut off in neutral. I couldnt get it to restart. and of course i was holding up traffic at ramp so i continued to try to start, pushing the key choke in several times, pushing throttle 3/4 foreward out of gear, no luck. so pulled out of water. popped top off cowling tilted up and noticed a pretty good bit of what looked like oil running from back of motor to front and collecting in bottom of cowling. it even ran down the battery cables and onto back of boat. It smelled like gas but was black like oil.

Could i have flooded the engine trying to get it fired since i was holding up traffic, and would the flooded engine have overflowed into the cowling. Trying to figure out if i need to take it back to the shop. Gonna run it in yard with muffs this afternoon.

 

[pnwboat]

Re: 1997 40hp Force water in top of motor?

It's pretty easy to flood the motor. Choke should only be engaged 2 - 3 seconds max each time you crank the motor.
Sometimes the fuel enrichment solenoid (choke) will stick in the open position and flood the motor. You can check by disconnecting the small 1/4 inch line that goes from the solenoid to the intake manifold. Only time gas should come out is when you engage the choke while cranking the engine. You can take a can of carburetor cleaner and squirt it into the fittings to clean out any gunk that may have built up in there.

 

[tater76]

Re: 1997 40hp Force water in top of motor?

Can you post a pic of the oil/gas mix in your pan?

 

[357bubba]

Re: 1997 40hp Force water in top of motor?

No. Unfortunately I have already cleaned it up. I did however hook it to the muffs in the yard. it cranked first turn of the key with no choke or 3/4 throttle like in a cold start. That's how it cranked when I bought it and the first couple times I ran it. Anyway I found an area at the back of the motor below the sparkplugs and off to the left where the main block of the motor connects to the lower cowling, kinda at the corner of the main engine, where water was spraying out of the man engine block. It seemed to be coming from an area where it looked like there was a seam of metal. Like where the headgasket probably would be. I took it out of gear and gently throttled the engine. It ran like it did when I first bought it. Smooth. But I've got this water spraying issue. apparently the water I see pooling in the lower cowling is coming from this spot.

Yall think it'll be a headgasket change?

After it sat a few days I noticed that a small amount of gas was dripping out of the carburator "bowl". Where the float is. Not sure if that's normal or what would cause that.

 

[tater76]

Re: 1997 40hp Force water in top of motor?

Yep, sounds like the head gasket. Do not run it anymore until you replace this! The gasket can be found here on Iboats for relatively cheap. It is a simple procedure, but when you put the gasket and head back on there is a specific torque procedure. You need a manual if you don't already have one, it will show the proper way. Gas dripping out of the carb when tilted up is not too uncommon, if it is sitting level and dripping from the bowl it is a small oring gasket between the bolt that holds the bowl to the carb, or the bowl seal itself. If it were me, I would pull the plugs and spray wd40 or some type of automotive oil into the cylinders. If you have a ruptured head gasket there may be water in them, you need to reduce the chances of rust ASAP!

 

[357bubba]

Re: 1997 40hp Force water in top of motor?

Thanks for the info.

Would this bad headgasket have anything to do with the inclemental starting. The last time i had it out it was hard to crank both cold when i first took it off the trailer and warm after it had been running a while.

 

[tater76]

Re: 1997 40hp Force water in top of motor?

If your head gasket is leaking it may cause low compression. Low compression will cause hard starting. Loose battery connections will cause hard starting, worn brushes in the starter will cause slow starting. If there is still gas dripping from the carb after the vent on the tank is closed, and the engine is sitting level, your needle and seat may need to be replaced, or the float adjusted.

 

[swrupert83]

Re: 1997 40hp Force water in top of motor?

just a little nomenclature here, typically "cranked" or "cranking" refers to the process of starting the engine and stops once the engine starts.

 

[tater76]

Re: 1997 40hp Force water in top of motor?

Excellent point swrupert83, If he is having slow cranking issues it is likely electrical. If the engine is having a hard time running then there are other issues. I guess a little more clarification of the "cranking" issue is needed

 

[357bubba]

Re: 1997 40hp Force water in top of motor?

Sorry on the terms guys. new to boating. It turns over fine, just doesnt "fire" as easy as it did when i bought it and the first couple times i took it out. It all went down hill after running it out of gas. When i turn the key, everything associated with the starting(electical etc) seems to work fine, the motor just wont fire and start running. as if there is a problem in the fuel not getting to the motor or in the spark of the plugs. I just replaced the plugs though. It sounds as if the starter is doing its job, and the flywheel is definitely turning the engine over pretty fast, but its just not "firing." It doesnt sound as if the starter is slow or slowly turning the motor over as if the battery was dead and everything was happening slowly. Sorry for the length of this but trying to explain it as best i can. I explained it to my local mechanic when i took it today to get the headgasket repaired and he said it sounds like the carburator doesnt have any fuel in it. not sure why that would be because i pump the bulb tight each time and just had fuel pump diaphragm changed.

 

[tater76]

Re: 1997 40hp Force water in top of motor?

If you are indeed not getting fuel to the carb... Did you replace the fuel pump diaphram yourself? could have put the gasket/diaphram combo in the wrong order? Clogged fuel line? Clogged strainer in the fuel tank? Remember, compression, spark, fuel check in this order to weed out problems.

 

[357bubba]

Re: 1997 40hp Force water in top of motor?

Its at the shop right now getting the head gasket replaced. im not mechanically inclined enough to do it myself. The same mechanic replaced the fuel pump diaphragm. Im hoping this new headgasket is gonna seal off the head so i can get a better closed system and improve the inclemental firingof the motor. I am having them test the compression as well. will post when i get it back. Im relying on yalls expertise to know how to report my problem to the mechanic. Im very type A and i wanna make sure the mechanic is doing what hes supposed to be doing.

Thanks guys for the help.