Metal in the Spark plug

[spinnerbaitking]

Hey Guys

I was out & lost power in my Skeeter 60 hp Merc, going along fine & then I just lost power, 10 km max, we limped the last little bit into shore to tie up took the top spark plug out & found 2 little pieces of shiny metal flake, cleaned the plug up & it worked fine fished for the day & coming back to shore, most of the way in same thing, has anybody had this happen, I'm thinking it is not very good but just wondering if you had it happen to any of your boats before, it a 3 cylinder & happened to the top one

Thanx for any help Tight Lines SBK

[hirk]

Remove the head (the metal plate the plugs go into) and look for damage you will see something. Dont even turn it over again before you do this.

[vance]

3 cylinder 2 stroke mercs don't have a head,it is a one piece head and block.What you describe sure sounds like you are starting to blow a hole through the top of the piston,the shinny metal bits are from the piston.lucky for you the plug shorted out before the hole was complete.you should be able to shine a small lite thru the spark plug hole and see if it is so,just rotate the engine by hand till the piston is at top dead center on that cylinder.

 

 

vance

[hirk]

Hows things Vance?no head? Sbk take a good look at the cylinder walls and look for score marks you may have a hung or broken ring too. Whatever it is will require a teardown and rebuild its just a matter of whats wrong and how much $ or if its worth doing? A used engine would likely be your cheapest option. Good luck with it.

[aplumma]

The 3 cylinder Merc had an issue in the #1 air plenum (it is longer than the other two). They are using 2 carbs to feed three cylinders. The #1 piston is running in a lean condition. They will need to replace #1 pistons and rings but DON'T run the motor till you find out why it was running lean. You will find that the plug you pulled is very white compared to the other plugs. I been down this road with that motor and they replaced the piston only and 30 min of running it was trashed. Then the fight started.... finally a 2 stroke guru friend of mine found the carb jets were corroded/fouled and the shop replaced the piston again and replaced the jets in the carb for the correct fix. The motor while I no longer own it it is still on the river running.

 

 

Art

[pikehunters]

This unfortunate for you is common in 2 strokes. Crank seal dries out & cracks which adds air into cylinder & burns hole in piston. During repair make sure to inspect the seal.

[Freshtrax]

Never run a 2stroke without fully pulling carbs at begining of season. Clean jets. Assemble. Then spray starting fluid around crank seals if rpm's spike you got some work to do. Unfortunatly it sounds like you burned her down. Shine a flashlight in the sparkplug hole. What does the wash look like?

[perodimi]

Had a friend with the same motor, identical symptoms. Rebuilt and failed 30 minutes after startup. Apparently there was a flaw in the castings and water jackets were restricted or plugged somewhere around the number one (top) cylinder. Had to scrap it.

[bigbuck]

DONT RUN IT AGAIN!!! It has to come apart to be rebuilt. Metal bits are BAD!! At this point, pull it apart to see what has failed. Then look for the cause. Sucky way to start the season.

[spinnerbaitking]

Thanx Guys no time this weekend so I`m hoping to investigate further Next Weekend

Tight Lines SBK

[DRIFTER_016]

As others have said it looks like it's running lean on that cylinder and is starting to burn the piston. Not a good thing. Best to look her over before running it again.

They don't work to good on 2 pistons.