Thanks Dhadley for responding about my 1985 VRO<br />that has a detonated piston. Yes- I now believe <br />water was the cause of the problem. Had it last year and I simply thought it was water in the fuel because engine would bog down.<br />Drained tank (got at least 1 pint of water) as much as possible and installed a Racor fuel/water separator as a safeguard. Then I thought it was a carb problem but ruled that out beacause when it did kick into hi speed it ran fantastic with 0 hesitation. Pretty much ruled out a lean mixture because I think the engine wouldn't run as well as it did if one cylinder was starved for fuel.Piston / cylinders look wide. Pistons have flat heads.<br />The gasket I replced is an exact clone of the one that was damaged. Old one actually had a couple <br />of dings in the metal ring and a score mark on the <br />plastic gasket area which now I believe was<br />symbolic of the very beginning of piston detonation. The water that eventually started to enter through the damaged gasket probably accelarated the detonation problem. All of you guys out there have taught me so much about outboards- and I am so thankful. Plugs are and always been Champions- # I don't remember off the top of my head but I know they are the correct plugs. I originally purchased them from an Evinrude dealer, though the the last set with the same # (cross reference- same plug but they drop a couple of #s- but we double checked with Champion part chart) Does this make a difference? The boat ran as well as it ever did, so I thought I was doing the right thing.<br />The boat is docked at a marina and my trailer is in storage at a boat yard. The area I fish is less<br />than a 1/4 of a mile from the marina. I dread the thought of wasting 1/2 a season- the time it would take to get the trailer/boat towed, parts, labor from a friend who is willing to help me out. Plus the marina won't allow me a partial refund for the slip because it is a municipality.<br />Is it safe to run at an EXTREMELY low speed just to get to fishing area- or am I completely clueless.<br />3 out the 4 pistons in this engine are in great shape and I surely don't want to do anything stupid.<br />A response from CastawayRay in this forum also suggested that it would OK to simply bore out that one cylinder and use a slightly wider piston that is used for this type of problem. The top cover which holds the spark plug (guesss you would call it a head cover?) has been beat up by the disintergrated piston. Can that area simply be ground down or do I need to purchase a new/used part? Thanks for all your help <br /><br />Sal G
