Water leaking into cylinder

[dschild]

1974 70HP johnson outboard. One day at full throttle she kicked back and lost power. I pulled the throttle back, and tried again, same thing. I took it home, put the ears on and ran the motor. Saw water coming out near the bottom 3/3 cylinder. It was shooting out the right hitting one of the coils. When I revved up the motor, water shot out faster.
So took the head cover off, found blown gasket. Replaced gasket and put it all back together. Used proper torque, etc. Still had water shooting out. Thought that maybe head cover was warped. So I found an online used parts dealer recommended on here and bought a new head cover. Put it all back together (and for a guy who knows NOTHING about motors, I was pretty happy with my accomplishments at this point. I'm a computer geek) Still had water shooting out the same side. Also looked at the center spark plug 2/3 and saw that it was shiny and clean. (I did change all the plugs. Was recommended by a johnson dealer that I use gapless plugs). The 3rd plug was very dirty. I check compression, all hitting about 120 giver or take. But still 3 was very dirty and 2 was very very clean.
I took it out on the water this weekend just to see what was going on. At full throttle I only got about 7mph. Definitely not getting the power it should be. Not kicking back anymore, but not getting power. I'm guessing cylinder 3 isn't running, and is maybe because water is getting in there. Any thoughts on this? How can I stop that water leak? How do I check fire on a cylinder? Help!?! First boat, getting very discouraged (and so is my checking account).

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Water leaking into cylinder

spark tester $10.00 auto parts store. did you replace the water jacket seal between the head and the water jacket.

 

[iwombat]

Re: Water leaking into cylinder

Your new head might just be warped too. Here's a test you can do.

Put a new sheet of sandpaper on something flat, like a piece of glass or chunk of metal stock. Take a sharpie and mark up the mating surface of your head. Place the head over the piece of sandpaper and glass and sand with a figure-8 motion. If the ink comes off the head even, its all nice and flat. If it comes off in spots, it's not.

Did you use a new head gasket when you reinstalled the head each time? Did you torque it down in proper sequence?

 

[dschild]

Re: Water leaking into cylinder

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm not sure about a water jacket seal. What I had was a head cover (installed head gasket), another cover on top of that (replaced gasket there), and then thermostat on top of that. I replaced the thermostat, the thermostat gasket, and thermostat cover gasket. Am I missing something?

I didn't replace the head gasket twice. Yes, I used proper sequence going from center out, and 18-20lbs torque.

I'll try the sharpie idea. That should help. Problem is I wonder if the head is fine, but maybe the block is warped?

 

[1730V]

Re: Water leaking into cylinder

From yor description, you replaced the head cover and gasket, not the head.

If so, your head gasket is suspect. It's no harder to replace than the head cover and gasket.

 

[iwombat]

Re: Water leaking into cylinder

Once a head gasket is installed, you really can't remove a head and reuse it again even if only used for a few minutes. The gasket is designed to be crushed in place while torquing. It will never quite line up again the same way.

As for the block. Take a straight edge to the mating surface and make sure it's all straight. It's pretty rare for the block to go out of true, but it does happen. Take extra care to remove all traces of the previous gasket. Brillo pads (the nylon type) and gasket remover aerosol work great for that.

Just to remove any confusion. The whole assembly you remove so you can see the top of the pistons is called the head. The very top plate of that assembly that you remove to see just water passages is called the head cover.

 

[dschild]

Re: Water leaking into cylinder

Right, I did remove the head, and the head cover. I replaced both gaskets. But I did take the head off again, and actually bought a new head, but did not replace the gasket after that.
Between the head and the (I call it a block. don't know if that's right) is there just a gasket, or is there anything else? I keep reading reference to a water jacket. Is that another word for the head cover?

 

[iwombat]

Re: Water leaking into cylinder

Just a gasket between the head and the block. The water jacket is the entire set of water passages surrounding the engine. The head cover provides access to one part of the water jacket.

 

[F_R]

Re: Water leaking into cylinder

Look for traces of water on (in) that #2 plug. Those 3 cylinder motors will warp the exhaust cover baffle plate at the slightest hint of overheating. Then it squirts water into the cylinders through the exhaust ports. If allowed to continue, it will spell disaster for the motor.

The exhaust cover is the big plate on the side of the block.

 

[iwombat]

Re: Water leaking into cylinder

F_R raises a very valid concern, but it was my understanding you still had a visible leak in the head gasket. Is that still the case or no? After rereading the original post, it's tough to tell if you eliminated that problem.

 

[dschild]

Re: Water leaking into cylinder

Yes, there's still water squirting out the starboard side of the head down by the 3rd cylinder.

 

[iwombat]

Re: Water leaking into cylinder

Okay, then no reason to go mucking about with the exhaust gasket until that's eliminated.