getting frustrated on recovered dunked motor

Posted by Lee Wisner (209.213.154.61) on October 20, 2003 at 21:26:48:

I need some moral support or another angle to jump into. I have a 1983 15hp Johnson, that I completly rebuilt 3 years ago. I re-ringed, bearings & seals, rebuilt the carb, new water pump also when I put a longshaft kit in it then. Cleaned & repainted & even decals.

This motor is used as a trolling motor, & I keep the idle adjustment screw down so it will troll for hours with no missing. I probably have this screw leaner than most, as I have not experienced the black, gooey oil coming from the lower exhaust housing after it sits for a week or so. It has always started with 2nd pull.

Now the rest of the story. On July 4th the son-in-law borrwed the boat & motors for a camping trip on a local lake. Some kids tried to steal the 15hp, but abandoned the idea. Son-in-law at daylight got the large motor started & in backing out from shore could not steer. 15hp was bound up against large motor & before he could get to it it fell over the side. 2 weeks & a divers 8 tanks of air, it was recovered.

As soon as I got it I ran it for 20 min. Then the next day I took the carb off & cleaned it out. Ran it for 1 1/2 hrs that day. next day for 5 hours, (2 1/2 hrs at a trolling speed in the tank).

Now the dilema is it currently is hard to start when cold, (unless you use starting fluid in the breather) and it nly ran on 1 cylinder at a idle.

I took it to a dealer & he found that there was one thread of carbon in the bottom of the threads. I had changed plugs & did not get them seated completly, ( loss of compression). he just cleaned the threads & said everything ran OK.

Now I still have the hard cold start. The plugs look oily after it sets. Oily Goo runs out of the lower housing. When I get it started after the starting fluid, it runs at a medium speed like it is missing, & when I open the throttle it SMOKES, & then will level out with a smoother run. Yet it idles OK.

My question is that since it was dunked, could the reed valves & plate be rusty enough to not seal & the bottom side compression be upsetting the intake suction?

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