frustrating spring commissioning

[JOHN COOKSON]

I don't recall this being mentioned in this thread.......
Get copy of the Moyer A4 service and overhaul manual. The book is worth its weight in gold.

TRUE GRIT

[nyvoyager]

I have a copy and yes worth gold. Not sure what you are pointing to John?
Just haven't gotten to tranny yet. Soaking cover bolts

[Al Schober]

That's one ugly plug. No spark from that one!
I'll add a step to your shifter adjustment. First, disconnect the engine shift lever from the boat linkage. Use the engine shift lever to shift the transmission into forward - you'll feel it go past the detent. Now, move the boat linkage to full forward - it should go about 1/8" past the hole in the engine shift arm. If it goes further, you're losing travel which will eventually come out of your neutral deadband. Adjust boat linkage as needed.
Next, shift the engine lever to full reverse. You may have to remove the transmission cover and back off the reverse adjustment to get it there. Then, move the boat linkage to full reverse and verify that it goes past the hole in the engine shift arm.
Once you've done this, you can be sure your boat linkage is giving you all the travel there is in the engine. Snug up the reverse adjustment so it doesn't slip in reverse. This should give you a good neutral band.

[nyvoyager]

Thanks Al.
Long story short - I've been dealing with water in the crankcase today
At this point, before I go any further I need to pressure test the block.
I made a new post to address this.....if all goes well I'll revisit your post. Thanks Al.
Even though it is runinng great - Truth is i feel this engine is on borrowed time....

That's one ugly plug. No spark from that one!
I'll add a step to your shifter adjustment. First, disconnect the engine shift lever from the boat linkage. Use the engine shift lever to shift the transmission into forward - you'll feel it go past the detent. Now, move the boat linkage to full forward - it should go about 1/8" past the hole in the engine shift arm. If it goes further, you're losing travel which will eventually come out of your neutral deadband. Adjust boat linkage as needed.
Next, shift the engine lever to full reverse. You may have to remove the transmission cover and back off the reverse adjustment to get it there. Then, move the boat linkage to full reverse and verify that it goes past the hole in the engine shift arm.
Once you've done this, you can be sure your boat linkage is giving you all the travel there is in the engine. Snug up the reverse adjustment so it doesn't slip in reverse. This should give you a good neutral band.

[Dave Neptune]

NY, have you done a compression check? A head gasket could easily leak just to one cylinder. The plug does look to be fouled by water & oil.

Dave Neptune

[nyvoyager]

Dave a compression test is the next thing i need to do.
I want to pressure test the block.
The engine seems to be running fine (on the hard with no load)
I just spent the day cleaning the oily mousse from the crankcase following last fall's overheating event
I cut it with 2 quarts of kerosene (which worked well), extracted it all and followed up with 3 oil changes. it's better but not still not clear oil... Which is why i think i need to pressure test the block.
My thoughts are that i have spent in inordinate amount of time and at 44 years this raw water cooled engine is on borrowed time.
Looking for some encouragement or to just pull it and buy a Moyer engine.
Just not sure yet
Thanks

[Sam]

Here is some encouragement, my A4 is 53 yrs old, never rebuild, I have had it for 43 yrs. I do change oil a couple of times a season and keep it well tuned. If you got good compression I would keep it. I bought a later model with a short block rebuild A4 25years ago thinking I would need it one day - still in storage.

[nyvoyager]

Thanks for the encouragement Sam - It seems to be running fine.
I'll pull the #4 plug again and see what it looks like - but it sounds good. A compression test and another 2 oil changes and I'll see where i am at.
And I just realized extracting oil from the gearbox is not going to get it all.....so that may explain the watery oil still

Here is some encouragement, my A4 is 53 yrs old, never rebuild, I have had it for 43 yrs. I do change oil a couple of times a season and keep it well tuned. If you got good compression I would keep it. I bought a later model with a short block rebuild A4 25years ago thinking I would need it one day - still in storage.

[Sam]

I think if you pump the oil out of the dipstick hole and have the tube all the way down you will be fine. My early model has a small hand pump build into the pan just under the carb - very difficult to use. After pumping oil out of the dip stick hole using a vacuum changer the hand pump yields only an additional pint, not really a big deal. A dozen years ago my engine/bilge was under water [another story] and water displaced all the oil in the engine - remember pumping out a couple gallons of water. Had to cycle "add 4qts oil/run engine to temp/pump out" 3 times to clear water in crank case. Takes a little work to clear the water. good luck.

[nyvoyager]

Update

got back out to the boat and here's the summary
1. changed oil 2 more times for a total of 5 oil changes
2. run engine for a few minutes after each oil change
3. the good news is all the oily mouse/sludge is gone.
4. bad news is there is still a lot of water in the oil.
5. new moyer water pump as of last fall so I think i can rule that out.
6. decent water flow out exhaust
7. the engine runs and sounds fine - no misses or sputtering
8. pulled plugs - #1, #2 & #3 are fine, -#4 looks like it is running rich and maybe a bit of oil on it

I think my next step is to pressure test the block.
Should that turn out okay - take a hard look at the exhaust side
Any other thoughts?
fingers crossed and thanks