[z71hoe]

I got back from Afghanistan just in time for the last 2 weeks of duck season. Well on the next to last day we decided to hunt Guana Lake. On the way out we were not running much over idle and then the motor died. I look back and smoke is pouring from the top. So I raise the motor out of the water and it is caked in hydrilla. I take the cowling off and its STEAMING but it did not bake any of the paint off. I remove the hydrilla and let the motor cool down. Then I try and recrank her. Nothing. She turns over but wont fire. The pee holes still pees water when you are trying to crank it. Just to be sure I ordered a new water pump and replaced it. There was nothing wrong with the old one. No cracks or tears at all. There is not any cracks in the block or any water coming from the block. I did a compression test this weekend and #1 cylinder is around 125 and #2 is at 110. From everything that I have read I understand that the numbers should be closer. So now I am stuck and not sure what else to do besides take it to a mechanic. Just wanted to see if anyone knows or would suggest doing before I spend a lot of money at a mechanic shop. The motor is a 1989 Johnson 15hp 2 stroke. Anyone got any suggestions? :'(

 

[bradmead]

Quite ironic, I used to have an old gheenoe, with the same year and motor. I was running on a shallow sand flat, and THOUGHT my motor was getting enough water, well I was wrong, and the same thing happened..but it wouldnt even turn over. After I let it sit for about 2 hours, I pulled it to see if i heard anything loose, nothing was loose. Pulled it a 2nd time and it fired right up..I think it was a case of I got crazy lucky. I never performed a compression check on the engine. But just figured id say there is some hope in your motor lol, with out taking it to a mechanic. You may need new rings though.

-Brad

 

[riptide]

unfortunatly i have baked the paint of an engine before , and it still ran for a good while . i think your compression is ok although not perfect i think it should run .

1. remove the plugs , put the spark plug boot back on the plugs ,et a large pair of insulated plyers

2. get a friend to hold the spark plug to a good ground on the motor , pull the motor , check for spark on both cylinders

if your lucky it might be a fouled plug

 

[z71hoe]

It has been a month now and still will not crank. So I dont have the luck like you Brad. Hopefully it is something simple.

I have pulled both plugs and used a spark tester and they both fire. I even tried putting starter fluid in the cylinders and replacing the plugs and nothing happened.

What now?

 

[topnative2]

timing is under the fly wheel if it got hot enough the glued on  "weights" may have moved throwing the timing off--pull fly wheel and examine
u still have compression ur still in business

good luck

 

[Brett]

Spark (at the right time), fuel, air, compression.
That's what has to be checked every time there's a problem.
Start with the simple things first.
Work your way from component to component.
Replace your spark plugs, odds are they're old.
A hairline crack in the ceramic insulator can allow a ground  fault
to occur. You'll show spark outside the engine block,
but not inside the piston chamber when installed.
Those older engines were very easy to work on,
here's a troubleshooting list to work through...

http://www.tenkillermarine.com/boatparts/tips.asp

tech specs for ignition components are linked

 

[z71hoe]

Thanks for all the help. Brett thanks for the website. A lot of helpful information on there. I am going to start with all the simple things and go from there. Hopefully I find the problem without spending a lot of money. As long as I can stay away from a mechanic I will. That always spells $$$$$. Thanks again fellas. Will let you know what I discover this weekend.

 

[Brett]

To prevent this from happening again,
relocate the end of the visually inspected water pressure discharge tube
from the bottom of the lower engine cowling to a place forward of where
you operate the outboard. Automotive vacuum tubing can be run
from the discharge nipple on the block to a point on your gunnel
so that the water stream is visible without turning around.

previous post...

http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1230483102/2#2

 

[topnative2]

Wait---is that not a micro wash down hose?????

 

[Brett]

Only if you buy the optional adjustable spray micro-nozzle also.

                             [smiley=happy.gif]

 

[mark_gardner]

To prevent this from happening again,
relocate the end of the visually inspected water pressure discharge tube
from the bottom of the lower engine cowling to a place forward of where
you operate the outboard. Automotive vacuum tubing can be run
from the discharge nipple on the block to a point on your gunnel
so that the water stream is visible without turning around.

previous post...

http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1230483102/2#2

lets try this again  :-[

excellent idea  [smiley=1-thumbsup1.gif] i'm tired of getting my neck all twisted up having to turn to see if she's still peeing    sucks getting old  ;D

 

[z71hoe]

Got some new plugs today and installed them. Gave her a try and she started for about 2 seconds. So I try again and nothing. Took some starter fluid and sprayed in the spark plug holes. She started again for about a sec. Then nothing the second try. So now it looks like I have a fuel problem. Maybe? Guess I will have to wait till Saturday and find out more. Work is KILLING me!

 

[FSUfisher]

The motor is a 1989 Johnson 15hp 2 stroke. Anyone got any suggestions? :'(

Isn't the horsepower in Guana Lake restricted to 10 hp or less???

Just giving you a hard time- I won't say anything if that's true. Good luck on your outboard, and like someone said- you still have compression. I wouldn't think you did that much damage to the motor, and a lot worse things have been done.

 

[Peter2006]

What may have happened is when you got it hot, it scuffed the piston skirts. You still have good compression but without primary (crankcase) pressure, your engine won't pull fuel even with starter fluid.
That is worst case, but it sounds like what happened.
BTW Never use starter fluid on an outboard. It could blow the crankcase halves in half. Seen it done on a 60 degree 115 Johnson
Use WD40 instead.

 

[z71hoe]

Yea the horsepower rating in 9.9 in Guana. Thats why I bought 9.9 stickers. I know its breaking the law so sue me. Only kidding. I know I am not the only one who does that.

Well after a long saturday of working on the motor I found out that to get the correct compression reading you needed to pull crank the motor and not use the electric start. So after I found that out I only had 80psi. Well after pulling the head I realized I needed a new head gasket. It was missing about 1/4 of the gasket. Then I noticed that there was a high spot on the head. I guess its bad when you can notice it with the naked eye. So I replaced the head gasket and got a milled head. Put it all back together and magic happened on the first pull. Now she purrs like a kitten and I have 110psi on both cylinders. Just glad I got it running now. Thanks for all the help fellas.

I never knew that you were not supposed to use started fluid on outboards. Guess I will be using WD40 from now on. Glad it didnt blow mine up. Thanks for the tip.

 

[emmamaddie]

bro, i know this is kindof late but here goes, cool down good, comp check ok but on a mtr that old not bad, each piston should not be anymore that 10%+- of the others. need to check spark and fuel flow. sometime the carb bowls can vapor lock. just make sure they are filling with gas and not air. may have burned through a coil wire, they are probably exposed on a motor that year. sorry for the delay but let me know what happened.
thanks baronboats

 

[nate.]

mozzeltov.