Hey friends. Love these forums, have been using yall's wisdom a ton (but clearly not enough) for the past couple years since acquiring my first boat. I am not a motorhead and am still figuring out the basics. First time posting - I apologize in advance for the onslaught of information and questions.
Took my Pearson 30 with a late-model A4 out for the first time this season and was getting a lot of exhaust in the cabin, a rapid but steady clicking/ticking sound from the engine, and low power - topping out at about 4.5 knots (normally I get just over 6).
After a lot of googling and reading the forum I concluded I had a stuck valve. I took the spark plugs out, poured some MMO in each hole, hand-cranked the engine a few turns, then let it sit for a beer or two. I started it again, but still had ticking and exhaust. I took a video at this point, which I'll link in a moment.
I repeated the procedure the next day, but let the MMO sit for much longer. I noticed that when hand cranking, I could see the valves going up and down in each hole, and if I rested an allen wrench on the top of the valve, could feel them going up and down - I did this for all four of them. I concluded then that they are not, in fact, stuck; or at least, that they are no longer stuck.
The videos I took are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/P2RANTV1fNk6mR6V9 (showing mostly water leak) and here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/7kRXA6KYoMhySnLe6 (showing mostly exhaust leak) . Both exhaust, and raw water, seem to be leaking out of the starter side of the engine, behind a plate/covering of some kind. I also noticed:
- my temperature doesn't climb above 120, and that it sort of stuck at 120 for hours after I stopped my test. Broken thermostat?
- what felt like oil on the tube leading to the thermostat. Maybe just soot and water though? Why would oil be getting into the thermostat?
- oil in the exhaust - even after 5-10 minutes of idling. Is that possibly residue from the MMO I put in the spark plug holes? Or is there likely a leak in the oil system somewhere?
- Finally, I noticed that some, but less, bluish fumes are emitted from the oil filler cap thing.
My questions:
- I plan to replace the thermostat and do a compression test; is that a good next step? Any other recommendations?
- any idea what the ticking noise is? Is it just the sound of exhaust squeezing out from behind that plate?
- are a few fumes emitting from the oil filler cap area normal? Or is that a symptom of a bigger issue?
- Could the drop in power be from a stuck valve that I happened to fix, or is it likely from something else?
- if oil is leaking into the water/exhaust symptom, am I boned?
- what is that plate on the side of the engine called that's leaking water? Do I need to replace it or a gasket underneath?
Thanks all,
Mike
Took my Pearson 30 with a late-model A4 out for the first time this season and was getting a lot of exhaust in the cabin, a rapid but steady clicking/ticking sound from the engine, and low power - topping out at about 4.5 knots (normally I get just over 6).
After a lot of googling and reading the forum I concluded I had a stuck valve. I took the spark plugs out, poured some MMO in each hole, hand-cranked the engine a few turns, then let it sit for a beer or two. I started it again, but still had ticking and exhaust. I took a video at this point, which I'll link in a moment.
I repeated the procedure the next day, but let the MMO sit for much longer. I noticed that when hand cranking, I could see the valves going up and down in each hole, and if I rested an allen wrench on the top of the valve, could feel them going up and down - I did this for all four of them. I concluded then that they are not, in fact, stuck; or at least, that they are no longer stuck.
The videos I took are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/P2RANTV1fNk6mR6V9 (showing mostly water leak) and here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/7kRXA6KYoMhySnLe6 (showing mostly exhaust leak) . Both exhaust, and raw water, seem to be leaking out of the starter side of the engine, behind a plate/covering of some kind. I also noticed:
- my temperature doesn't climb above 120, and that it sort of stuck at 120 for hours after I stopped my test. Broken thermostat?
- what felt like oil on the tube leading to the thermostat. Maybe just soot and water though? Why would oil be getting into the thermostat?
- oil in the exhaust - even after 5-10 minutes of idling. Is that possibly residue from the MMO I put in the spark plug holes? Or is there likely a leak in the oil system somewhere?
- Finally, I noticed that some, but less, bluish fumes are emitted from the oil filler cap thing.
My questions:
- I plan to replace the thermostat and do a compression test; is that a good next step? Any other recommendations?
- any idea what the ticking noise is? Is it just the sound of exhaust squeezing out from behind that plate?
- are a few fumes emitting from the oil filler cap area normal? Or is that a symptom of a bigger issue?
- Could the drop in power be from a stuck valve that I happened to fix, or is it likely from something else?
- if oil is leaking into the water/exhaust symptom, am I boned?
- what is that plate on the side of the engine called that's leaking water? Do I need to replace it or a gasket underneath?
Thanks all,
Mike
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