Ruddertwin exhaust isues

[Waunnaboat]

Hello again.  I was trying to take my ruddertwin out for a spin the other day, and upon putting it sideways with the exhaust facing down in the back of my truck, I found that it leaked about 1/2 pint of what I believe to be a mixture of carbon from exhaust, and water.  I believe it to have leaked to the exhaust from the attached cavity where the driveshaft runs.  This has sparked two questions from me.  The first would be is this an issue?  I know that the carbon buildup would probably be regular in this portion of these motors due to the design, but is the water an issue?  I suspect it came in from one of the screw things on the side of the motor (I have not touched anything apart from the carb/fuel tank and regreasing the LU, and it has not been touched since 1969, and probably even before then).  My primary concern with this was that my engine would not start apart from a few hits in the cylinder on the opposite side of the exhaust port.  I believe this to be because the mixture of carbon and water had gotten into the cylinders and caused issues.  I had success with it the last time I took it out, so I highly doubt that there is anything wrong with the carb or ignition system, plugs aside.  Reasonably assuming that this mixture has gotten into at least one cylinder, is there anything I should do to prevent this from causing any issues?  I was thinking of taking out the spark plugs, cleaning them up a bit, and letting the inside of the cylinder dry out really well.  Would this be enough, or is further action needed?

"Outboards seem to multiply exponentially..........I find that for every finished project, there are two more waiting to be completed."

[Waunnaboat]

Sorry in advance for the long paragraph, but I wanted to describe the issue as best I can.

"Outboards seem to multiply exponentially..........I find that for every finished project, there are two more waiting to be completed."

[PM T2]

It is not likely as big an issue as you think. What you’re calling “carbon” sounds more like a mix of unburnt fuel and oil dripping out through the exhaust system. if you hung the motor upright for a few days after running it, you’ll find the same puddle of goo building up under the lower unit. The water you speak of is just the cylinder water jacket draining because you laid the motor on its side. After you run them, water stays in the cylinder water passages until its drained. What you did is lay the motor on its side, which allows the curly tube on one side to act as the vent, and gravity allows the residual cooling water to siphon out of the other. Which is a good thing, because you don’t need to have cooling water sit in the cylinders while the motor is in storage. Neither of these conditions are going to cause any trouble on the interior of the cylinder, so let me stop you right there and move on to what may actually be happening with your motor

To be frank, if it hasn’t been used since 1969 and it fired right up for you, i’ll say for the record that you’re extremely lucky. As for why it doesn’t run properly now, I can tell you that the first thing I’d suspect is the ignition system for the simple reason that the condensers hidden inside the coil usually go bad just because of their age. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve been asked about a revived Elto that ran great the first time it was run, then gave headaches after that because of the ignition system, I’d have a pretty big pile of dollars to play with. So I would suspect the condenser first off. Second would be the condition of the spark plug leads themselves. How good is the insulation on the wires? How solid is the connection at the coil? You need to check for spark, both in the open air and under compression. If you don’t have an in-line spark tester, either buy or borrow one, they are a valuable tool in diagnosing spark issues. Once you’ve done some actual testing to eliminate or confirm ignition system fitness, then you can move onto things like fuel supply, plugged port openings, plugged exhaust, and so on, that might cause performance issues. But with any Elto, the first thing to investigate is the ignition system, so take it from there.

Hope this helps.

Best,
PM T2
Elto Special Interest Group Leader (Interim), AOMCI

He's livin' in his own private Idaho..... I hope to go out quietly in my sleep, like my grand-dad did..... and not screaming, like the passengers in his car...

1 user thanked author for this post.

Waunnaboat

[RICHARD A. WHITE]

If the coil is determined to be the issue there are a number of options that can remedy this. If that is the problem let us know and we can discuss further.

Tearing the coil down to replace bad parts, not always a good time or using a 3d printed housing with all new parts.

Regards

Richard

http://www.richardsoutboardtools.com
classicomctools@gmail.com

1 user thanked author for this post.

Waunnaboat

[Waunnaboat]

I don’t highly suspect that there is something wrong with the ignition.  I suppose I have not made it very clear, but I have had it running at least 5 times on the stand and once on the water over the course of a few months (I only recently bought a boat to run my engines on).  I think I will let it sit for a couple of days and see if it works then.  I’ll probably replace the coil if that dosen’t work.

"Outboards seem to multiply exponentially..........I find that for every finished project, there are two more waiting to be completed."

[Waunnaboat]

There is something to be said about the condition of the spark plug leads.  I checked for spark when I first bought it, and it has been consistent until now.  I think that the more prominent issue would lie in the spark plug leads as opposed the the coil, but that is more of a guess.  I will fiddle around with the positioning of the spark plug leads and post about success or failure sometime tomorrow.

"Outboards seem to multiply exponentially..........I find that for every finished project, there are two more waiting to be completed."

[RICHARD A. WHITE]

More often than not, the leads have swollen outer casing, causing them to be cut by the end caps. This can be a bit of a pickle to correct as I believe it is a safe bet that the tar used to “seal” the components in the case are not good for human exposure. So be sure to wear gloves…

http://www.richardsoutboardtools.com
classicomctools@gmail.com

[Tubs]

Today s oil will dissolve much of the carbon left in the power head from the junk oil they had in the past. I suspect your running an excessive amount of oil, (IMO) and as most of the oil doesn’t get burned, your motor will ooze a lot of it. If you’re still using a original coil, with all the original wiring, be sure to take a pair of oars along with you. If the wiring on your coil is so good its worth preserving, then save it for display. Build one with all new components for running the motor.

 

 

A "Boathouse Repair" is one that done without having tools or the skills to do it properly.

[Waunnaboat]

I am running 1/4 pint of oil per gallon per the (barely legible) oiling instructions.  I have been bringing a pair of oars along with me, which turned out to be a good idea.  I’ll see how it pans out once I have cleaned up the spark plugs a bit.  If I can get it to run somewhat consistently, I would rather keep it all original.  I have another ruddertwin I could do a coil swap in to get running, and I may do just that.

"Outboards seem to multiply exponentially..........I find that for every finished project, there are two more waiting to be completed."

[Author]

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