gale bucaneer 25hp engine running in barrel produced very dirty water

[kocotheclown]

hi all,
i need some advice/help here !
i have a 1961 gale bucaneer 25hp engine which i have just finished repairing/servicing .
i have just put in ALL new wires, coils, condensors, ht leads, plugs, and installed new wiring for the electric start.
got the engine on the back of the boat and could not get a spark when in the water - so, i got the boat home and adjusted the points and all is good now !
today i ran the engine in a large bin (which i power washed to be sure it was clean first). obviously the water was clean and clear to start, but after running the engine for an hour mostly at idle to test it, the water in the bin was quite dirty and had quite a bit of oil in with the water !
QUESTION : what is the cause of the oil in the water ?
is it too much oil in the fuel mix ? or could it be a leak or something ???
new to boating but hoping to go out in the atlantic fishing soon, so just want to be sure all is ok first
thanks
koco

 

[nwcove]

Re: gale bucaneer 25hp engine running in barrel produced very dirty water

those old motors are dirty....and it shows up in barrel rather quickly. most of the time its just unburnt fuel/oil mix from the exhaust, but run it on the water and inspect the gearcase oil. ( most..if not all , motors from that era, when fuel was cheap ,do the exact same thing in a barrel...smoke like crazy, and make a mess!!)

 

[cgodfrey]

Re: gale bucaneer 25hp engine running in barrel produced very dirty water

Sounds perfectly normal to me.

Put a squirt of dish soap in your test barrel next time to keep the barrel and submerged part of the motor MUCH cleaner.

 

[kocotheclown]

Re: gale bucaneer 25hp engine running in barrel produced very dirty water

thanks guys - that makes me feel a lot happier knowing it is normal !
the engine was running for an hour in a bin yesterday to test before heading out to sea, and everything was perfect once i tuned it up a bit. no smoke from the engine at all just from the exhaust in the water