Just when I thought this sooty plugs problem was cured I discovered it was still with me. Background is that I bought the 1973 Ericson 29 in May 2006. Basically, the boat was in good shape but needed some TLC. This was my first inboard powered boat having owned outboards since 1987. By now the boat is in really great shape. Less than a week ago we were departing our harbor, on Lake Ontario, and ran through some nasty floating islands of organic material which managed to clog the engine water intake. When I realized the engine was overheating I shut it down, still in the narrow channel, and dropped an anchor, then another. Went overboard and cleaned the water intake. The engine started right up and temperature quickly cooled to normal. Being conservative we headed back to the slip. The engine had no apparent damage and ran great but I wanted to do a compression check before heading out again. The next day there was no water in the oil so I began removing spark plugs and checking compression (after first closing the through-hull fitting: thanks to Moyer's manual I knew about that). Expecting to see clean plugs I was disappointed that they appeared sooty as ever. The engine had less than 10 hours since new plugs were installed. Compression was low but consistent. (65,65,70,65). No water in the cylinders either. Whew. About the only thing I've done to the engine to cure the sooty plugs problem since purchasing the boat was lubricating the choke cable which helped the idle speed immensely. After doing that the engine ran so well I thought the problem was fixed. Any suggestions what to do next? I remember reading somewhere on this site about some carburetors having air leaks in the halves which don't quite fit properly. The previous owner had installed a new carburetor. Can't seem to locate that discussion now, however. Another is the possibility of an exhaust restriction causing the problem. There appears to be copious amounts of water spewing from the exhaust, even more after I replaced the impeller last month. (Two broken blades but found all the pieces!) Hey, maybe the fact the engine is 34 years old might have something to do with it?! Any suggestions to cure this, one of the few problems I now have with this boat, would be appreciated very much.
Thanks!
Gardner Soule
Thanks!
Gardner Soule
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