Yesterday, the motor( 10 HP Seahorse, 1956) purred like a kitten for the first 15 minutes of use. Then, she seemed to get bogged down. She would still run, but sounded warbly…I would describe it like a hesitation. When I cut off the motor, and my boys played in some sand, it was very tough to get it going again…maybe 10 or more pulls. Usually, it takes 2. I was running fresh gas/right mixture. I tilted the motor and looked inside just to see if I saw any leaks or anything when on shore. Eventually, when I dropped the motor back in, I saw, it seemed, a lot of oil in the water. After I got it going, many pulls… it did the same thing. It purred for about 10 minutes, then started to hesitate…a little but still pushed me down the river. I messed with lean/rich mixture on both slow and fast. That helped a little, but not much. Eventually, we stopped again. This time for a rope swing. When I went to start it, it started second pull, but I had sheared a pin, which I never noticed, approaching shore. So, in the end, I had 2 issues. Any idea on the hesitation or it running rough? About 2 weeks ago, it did this same thing for the first time. I was running wide open, everything was great, and then, the motor just sounded super rich and loud. I also saw a little smoke coming from a hole at the top of the prop, where the water seems to come out when it runs. I looked in the parts manual for a good visual, but couldn’t find the area I am talking abot
Thanks for any help! I was thinking maybe it was something with my tank’s air supply to the motor. I thought about trying out a different tank just to see. Right now, I am running a vintage 1950s gas tank with the 10HP Johnson Seahorse.
I just learned this could be from a failing impeller. Is there an easy way to tell when it is out of the water? Anyone have any leads for excellent engine service here in Richmond VA? I feel so ignorant. I had known if your engine ever sounds weird, you might have a broken impeller that if not addressed will mess your engine up quick. I am learning!
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