Water coming out of carb

Larryrsf

Larryrsf

Member
Today I took my boat out for a short spin. It was idling too slowly and died when I was maneuvering back into the marina slip. Thankfully, someone helped me avoid drifting into other boats, mostly sailboats so long that they extended out into the channel.

Once safely in my slip, I removed the cowling and adjusted the idle faster. As this old engine accumulates hours after that 14 year sleep, things are changing as the carbs clean themselves with that fuel additive.

But I noticed a persistent drip of water from the bottom port side carb air intake. None other, just that one. I put my fingers into the stream and smelled it to ensure that it isn't gas. It is just warm water.

In a car engine, when radiator water mixes with the oil or gets into the cylinders, it means a blown head gasket. Same here?

I hesitate to believe that because it is definitely NOT running on 5 cylinders. It idles well and can turn 5000 RPM at full throttle, the boat hits 45MPH or more.

What does that water mean?

Larry
 
Fuel and oil, yes. Water? That's a bit confusing. The air intake is just that, and shouldn't have any cooling water near it, same for the carbs. I suppose that there could be a water leak that is "spraying" water into the intake, and when you pulled the cover, you saw it dripping back out.

Pull the plugs an see if 1) they're all the same color, and 2) if one if them is wet. Water in the cylinder will clean a plug, old timers trick to get rid of fouling is to spray a fine mist into the intake while the engine is running. Pull the float bowl and see if there's water in it. Pull the fuel line and squirt a bunch of fuel into a mason jar and look for water. Put the muffs on, or drop it in a barrel and run with the cover off an see if you can see anything leaking or spraying.

If it's idling well, and not leaning out as the throttle opens up, I'd be inclined to think it's an external source rather than internal
 
Thanks! What is so confusing is that it runs well, certainly that cylinder is firing correctly.

I will pull the plugs and see whether there is a difference between that cylinder plug and the others. That's about all I can do because as you see in the photo, the boat and motor are in the water in a marina--and my boat trailer is being rebuilt.

I would like to put the muffs on and flush it with fresh water, but I can't reach far enough from inside the boat to put the muffs on when the motor is tilted up. I might be able to angle the boat in the slip around to get the lower unit near enough to the pier. I don't see the others flushing their motors, so maybe that sea water is not so bad. Nearly everyone tilts their lower units up out of the water like I do.

Larry
 
Last edited:
Larryrsf said:
Thanks! What is so confusing is that it runs well, certainly that cylinder is firing correctly.

I will pull the plugs and see whether there is a difference between that cylinder plug and the others. That's about all I can do because as you see in the photo, the boat and motor are in the water in a marina--and my boat trailer is being rebuilt.

I would like to put the muffs on and flush it with fresh water, but I can't reach far enough from inside the boat to put the muffs on when the motor is tilted up. I might be able to angle the boat in the slip around to get the lower unit near enough to the pier. I don't see the others flushing their motors, so maybe that sea water is not so bad. Nearly everyone tilts their lower units up out of the water like I do.

Larry
Click to expand...

As an ex-Navy sailor, please allow me to assure you.....That sea water IS that bad. It will corrode almost any metal you put into it (Gold won't corrode, so if your engine is made of solid gold you're safe). As I'm sure you are aware, the reason for tilting your engine up is to get it out of that sea water... but the water inside your engine will continue it's corrosive actions. Even if all the water drains out, the salt film left behind on the metal is still there, still eating into everything. If it's possible to fresh water flush your engine, then by all means do so. Your engine will thank you for it with many extra years of service.
 
Destroyer said:
As an ex-Navy sailor, please allow me to assure you.....That sea water IS that bad. It will corrode almost any metal you put into it (Gold won't corrode, so if your engine is made of solid gold you're safe). As I'm sure you are aware, the reason for tilting your engine up is to get it out of that sea water... but the water inside your engine will continue it's corrosive actions. Even if all the water drains out, the salt film left behind on the metal is still there, still eating into everything. If it's possible to fresh water flush your engine, then by all means do so. Your engine will thank you for it with many extra years of service.
Click to expand...

I have been thinking about how I might attach the muffs to a broomstick and push them onto the lower unit with that. I'll keep working on that.

When we get a glimpse of the hull or motor or anything on any boat that has been submerged, it gets very ugly very fast! In only weeks there is a coating of green moss, etc. I am wondering how easy that will be to remove when I finally get the boat onto a trailer. My lower unit extends into the water only a few inches when tilted up-- and there that stuff is! I need to check it again after a short outing-- to determine whether the speed in the water scrapes that stuff off.

Periodically the sailboat owners hire divers to go down and scrape the bottom of their boats. I am unsure what that costs, but can't be cheap!

Regardless, having the boat in the Marina is certainly a LOT easier than trailering, loading, retrieving, etc. That process would almost certainly result in some sort of accident eventually because it isn't easy to launch or retrieve a Wellcraft V20. I am obliged to crawl through the back of my Durango and climb up onto the front of the boat-- thank goodness for that railing! But one slip of a foot and I could injure a leg badly enough to risk an infection! It is definitely a two-man operation. I suppose I could do it alone, but the others using a busy launch ramp would have to wait-- I would get lots of moans and complaints on a Saturday morning here on Shelter Island. So I am glad to have it in the Marina.

Larry
 
Larryrsf said:
Regardless, having the boat in the Marina is certainly a LOT easier than trailering, loading, retrieving, etc. That process would almost certainly result in some sort of accident eventually because it isn't easy to launch or retrieve a Wellcraft V20. I am obliged to crawl through the back of my Durango and climb up onto the front of the boat-- thank goodness for that railing! I would get lots of moans and complaints on a Saturday morning here on Shelter Island. So I am glad to have it in the Marina.

Larry
Click to expand...

Yep, gotta admit that having a slip is the easy way to go. But I launch and retrieve by myself all the time. I have a special pair of booties (Like divers booties) that I wear along with shorts. I back my boat down the ramp, jump out of my Durango, walk into the foot or so of water, grab the previously attached bow line and give her a shove. She glides off the trailer, I guide her to the dock, do a quick tie up, jump back into my truck and drive it away. It's true that it takes longer than when you have 2 people, but only by a minute or so. As long as you seem to know what you are doing most people are understanding.
 
I regularly trailer and launch solo with my 30' twin engine cruiser... I am usually faster than whoever is in the next ramp..... no more than 5 minutes from the time I stop the truck till I pull out unless someone else delays me getting to the dock or I have to wait out a series of barge wakes before tying up.
 
phatdaddy said:
Larry, do you have bottom paint on your hull? they also make it for outdrives.
Click to expand...

No. And something with a lot of arsenic in it would have been a good idea, albeit that is super illegal these days! Years ago bottom paint contained all sorts of toxic stuff.

As I walked to and from my boat today I was able to look at the lower units of several outboards and I/O rigs that are down in the water and saw the HORRIBLE growth from the sea water.

I have no idea how I will get that off my boat bottom! My lower unit is tilted up as far as possible but still extends only a few inches into the water. The marine growth after 3 weeks in that few inches is amazing! So today I looked at the growth before and after an hour ride in the harbor. I kept the speed up over 20MPH most of that time and hit 30+ for a few minutes. Guess what? The marine growth was exactly the same, NO change! So simply erosion from the rushing water is certainly not going to remove that.

Larry
 
so, your keeping your boat in the water for the summer without any bottom paint on it?

that might not be a good idea
 
Larryrsf said:
No. And something with a lot of arsenic in it would have been a good idea, albeit that is super illegal these days! Years ago bottom paint contained all sorts of toxic stuff.

As I walked to and from my boat today I was able to look at the lower units of several outboards and I/O rigs that are down in the water and saw the HORRIBLE growth from the sea water.

I have no idea how I will get that off my boat bottom! My lower unit is tilted up as far as possible but still extends only a few inches into the water. The marine growth after 3 weeks in that few inches is amazing! So today I looked at the growth before and after an hour ride in the harbor. I kept the speed up over 20MPH most of that time and hit 30+ for a few minutes. Guess what? The marine growth was exactly the same, NO change! So simply erosion from the rushing water is certainly not going to remove that.

Larry
Click to expand...

Don't worry, a few more weeks in the water and you won't be able to hit 20mph. I'd get that boat out ASAP, clean the bottom, and paint it before the bottom is ruined.
By the way, trailers have bunks not bunkers.
 
GoodGrief.JPG


lu3.jpg




http://youtu.be/5d3qie3jbHk
 
Last edited:
phatdaddy said:
so, your keeping your boat in the water for the summer without any bottom paint on it?

that might not be a good idea
Click to expand...

Just got a call that my boat trailer is ready after having been almost completely rebuilt. I plan to tow the trailer to a storage yard on MCRD where I will store the boat and trailer after I take it out of the water in the Fall. The MCRD facility is near the Harbor Island Marina where my boat is. And MCRD has a launch ramp. I think everything is there, water, power, etc. So I could drive down and work on it there, even paint the bottom after cleaning the marine growth off.

NOW, how do I move the boat on the trailer enough to get to the places the bunkers and rollers normally touch? That boat is HEAVY especially with the outboard motor on it-- any sort of jerry-rig support might be pretty dangerous to work underneath.

AND, what is the best way to remove marine growth? I have a power washer...

I will make a point of asking the guys who SCUBA underwater in the Marina to clean the boat bottoms of the sailboats-- which are too big to trailer.

Larry
 
Striper80 said:
Don't worry, a few more weeks in the water and you won't be able to hit 20mph. I'd get that boat out ASAP, clean the bottom, and paint it before the bottom is ruined.
By the way, trailers have bunks not bunkers.
Click to expand...

It had a good coat of paint before I put it in the water. But how could marine growth "ruin" a fiberglass surface? Seems it would be nearly impervious to real damage from marine growth-- since it has survived for 40+ years without weakening.

And since there are thousands of boats similarly in the ocean water on this and every coast. The sailboats are NEVER out of that water!

Larry
 
Striper80 said:
Originally you said your boat was not painted, hence the concern.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I really don't know. I got if after it had sat in a field for 14 years. It was obviously an ocean fishing boat. It had dozens of rod-holders and a big bait tank, an old fish finder, and ship-to-shore radio. The bottom was blue after I power-washed all the oxidation off. But who knows what or if any bottom paint was on there?

I really had little choice but to install it in a Marina after I put it in and then the trailer fell apart! And trying to use if from there all Summer seemed like a good option since there is NO CHANCE that any marine mechanic would work on it for me. The carbs need to be rebuilt. They told me that, but then they told me they have a months-long backlog of work. So what is an owner to do? I just add carb cleaner to the fuel and go!

Everything is a trade-off, a risk we take. If it blows up, I will remember that I got the boat, motor, and trailer for $100!

Larry
 
Larryrsf said:
Thanks. I really don't know. I got if after it had sat in a field for 14 years. It was obviously an ocean fishing boat. It had dozens of rod-holders and a big bait tank, an old fish finder, and ship-to-shore radio. The bottom was blue after I power-washed all the oxidation off. But who knows what or if any bottom paint was on there?

I really had little choice but to install it in a Marina after I put it in and then the trailer fell apart! And trying to use if from there all Summer seemed like a good option since there is NO CHANCE that any marine mechanic would work on it for me. The carbs need to be rebuilt. They told me that, but then they told me they have a months-long backlog of work. So what is an owner to do? I just add carb cleaner to the fuel and go!

Everything is a trade-off, a risk we take. If it blows up, I will remember that I got the boat, motor, and trailer for $100!

Larry
Click to expand...

Well, when becoming an owner of a vintage boat, you wind up taking on a tremendous amount of the work yourself. I purchased a 1977 V20 Cuddy, with a 1971 Mercury 1350 outboard about two weeks ago. There's a thread here that I started under "Repairs" that I will wind up doing myself.

Just to get the motor to where I'm comfortable, I'll be rebuilding the water pump, fuel pumps and carbs. Doing a full tune-up, new plug wires and distributer parts, replace any bad wiring and all the seals (and possibly bearings) in the lower unit. Then, I'll be rebuilding the controls and replacing the wiring.
All this for a boat that was in the water last year and fished. Some here may think its a bit of overkill, but I've seen some things in the way that the boat was maintained (or not) that make me scratch my head. I prefer to minimize some of the problems that I may have inherited.

To take a vessel that has "sat in a field for 14 years" and "add carb cleaner to the fuel and go" takes a level of confidence in the PO that I don't possess. Great boating to you!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top