Water in the Cylinders

[Mark Bleau]

I have a 1990 40hp vro johnson outboard, at idle it was misfiring so i pulled the plugs and discovered traces of water on them. It starts up and idles a little rough but at full throttle runs normal, compression test showed 130 psi in both cylinders.Could it still be head gasket with that much compression or should i be looking at something else?

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Water in the Cylinders

What plugs are you running?

You may have an exhaust gasket leak.

 

[Benny1963]

Re: Water in the Cylinders

yes i could be head gaskets have you overheated it .
may have warped one of the heads or blew gasket
or ex gasket leak some one with more knowlege will chime in
good luck bennyb

 

[Mark Bleau]

Re: Water in the Cylinders

plugs are champion Ql78c

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Water in the Cylinders

The misfire could be a number of things. Start with a spark test. The spark should jump the gap on the inline gauge a good 7/16 of an inch with a bright blue ZAP!! Ensure the plugs are torqued down to 18.5 to 20.5 ft/lbs. BTW, what is their condition?

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Water in the Cylinders

What colour were the plugs when you took them out ????

 

[Mark Bleau]

Re: Water in the Cylinders

the plugs are brand new,but it is leaving a milky residue on them.the plugs i took out before that didn't seem to show signs of excessive heat.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Water in the Cylinders

You may also have water in your fuel. Try a remote tank to verify and see if the symptoms dissapear.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Water in the Cylinders

Put the old dirty plugs back in if they still work and see if they look clean after you run the motor.
Let us know,
Ken.
By the way, welcome to iboats

 

[Mark Bleau]

Re: Water in the Cylinders

I put some old dirty plugs in and ran it.the plugs came out clean with milky residue on them.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Water in the Cylinders

I put some old dirty plugs in and ran it.the plugs came out clean with milky residue on them.

Sounds to me like you were giving the plugs a steam clean from a blown head gasket.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Water in the Cylinders

Any updates ???

 

[Mark Bleau]

Re: Water in the Cylinders

Buying head gasket tomorrow at happy days,will try that first.Is the next thing exhaust gaskets if that don't work.Is there any way of testing the block for cracks?Might be getting in over my head.