Johnson 1987 110 HP V4

[fredbenz]

Hello. This is my first post so if I violate etiquette, my apologies.

I have a John 1987 110 HP V4 2 stroke motor that is new to me. I've had it out half a dozen times since I got it and the only problems I have had were that sometimes when I'd go to low RPM, it would die. I replaced the plugs because they looked a bit black and I figured it's a cheap enough solution. Well, that didn't help. I read countless places that suggested to do a decarb and saw several ways to do that. I opted for the 16 ounces of seafoam to 1 gallon of fuel. That seems to have helped it idle and run low RPMs much better... but while doing that, I discovered that I appear to have a water leak somewhere between the lower unit and the power head. I suspect the gasket that goes between the two, but I'm not sure and was hoping you guys could advise. I took a video of the problem and posted it to Youtube. That video is available here: https://youtu.be/kLWvYc-OV54.

Note, I can't be sure but I don't think it was leaking water like this before. Maybe it's doing it because of the water pressure from the hose? I'm taking it out again on Sunday so it will be interesting to see how it does then.

 

[racerone]

Stalling can be caused by low compression.-----The black plugs are a concern to me.-----I suggest you do a compression test first before spending too much time / money.------Picked up an 88 model 110 last week for parts / rebuild.----These motors have a history of breaking piston rings !!

 

[fredbenz]

Please bear with me. I'm far from a mechanic. So... if the piston rings were to fail, would it spew water?

Note that after running 16 ounces of Seafoam and a gallon of 50:1 fuel mix through the engine, it idles much better now.

 

[interalian]

Looks like you have either a bad head gasket or a cracked block on the port side (by the fuel filter). Most of the water you see running down the leg is coming from there and draining around the motor pan. You'll need to pull that head to see. Getting the head off is pretty easy - just the 10 1/2" bolts to the block need to be removed after the bottom hose and the coil connector.

But do a compression test first as racer said.

Sometimes if the motor isn't fully drained before a freeze, the block can crack. Powerhead drains best with the leg in running position.

 

[Bosunsmate]

Yes you have a leak. You will need to pinpoint exactly where its coming from.
Id say bad head gasket, exhaust gasket or base plate power head gasket which is the one under the motor.
Get someone to start the motor up while you are at the back that way you can see where the first spray comes out of as its hard to decipher where its coming from if the area is already dripping all over the show.

And no rings and spewing water dont go together.
Just track down the leak first and foremost. Low idle problem can wait or it may be caused by the leak. Water hitting that bottom plug will short it out as its running

 

[Bosunsmate]

And if you have a problem with the page stuck saying "working" just refresh the page and it will fix itself, dont start a new thread again like before as that gets bewildering

 

[racerone]

???--------These motors have a history of breaking piston rings and stalling may indicate your motor has problems.------I try and teach trouble shooting !!--------It would be a shame to do all that work or pay a shop to fix the leak, to find out that you bought someone else's problems.-----------I have numerous motors like that for parts / rebuild and do not need a manual to do so !