Did I loose a cylinder?? 70hp Evinrude

[PhilG]

This is an Evinrude 70hp (model: E70TLEDA / serial: G04012964).
I was out in the boat today . .no problem starting ran fine for about three or four runs of about 3 miles each. I would run, then fish . .then run then fish. The last time I was running, I was about 5k rpm and everything was going fine. Then the motor started making odd noises and lost power. I shut it down and then trolled to get around the bend in the river so I wouldn't be sitting in a curve for another boat. I then tried to start it and it turned over but wouldn't catch. I trolled a little while longer to get closer to the launch and then figured i would try it again. I disconnected the shifter so I could use the arm as soley throttle control. The motor caught but made some "clankety" noise so I quit trying. Now anytime I try, it just clicks like I locked it up. Once I got it loaded I looked at the three plugs. The bottom had oil, the middle had oil but the top one look charred and sorta dry. My gut tells me I lost a cylinder but I don't know. This motor is an oil injected model and there was oil in the reservoir and I never got any alarms. The gauges with their stage lights for no oil, check motor and all of that seem to work fine. I didnt notice any odd smells or anything out of the normal. Any ideas for further troubleshooting or things to check or advice welcome. I live in a small town with no shop so I would live to troubleshoot all I can before I take it to someone. Thanks for your help.
Phil

[Earl320V]

I'm not a expert,but, I think you lost at least one cylinder. Is it electric start? you don't say,I just assume it is, if it is try turning the flywheel by hand.to be sure it isn't the starter hung up, but I think you cooked it.

[PhilG]

yes it is electric start.
I tried turning the flywheel by hand and I can't move it. With the cowling off when you hit the key it looks like the fly wheel moves a tooth or two with each click . . but just grabbing it and trying to turn it . I can't do that. I don't have a pull rope of anything to try to turn the flywheel other than my hands. Thanks for the reply!
phil

[Earl320V]

in my mind, its not looking good. You could always disassemble it and find out.

[Earl320V]

sent you a IM

[PhilG]

I could but it is really an issue of time. If it were a jeep or shovelhead I wouldnt hesitate . but something about an outboard makes me want to bring it to someone who does it for a living :-)

[Earl320V]

did you get it?

[Earl320V]

do it the old fashion way,pull the plugs stick a piece of tubing down the spark plug whole turn flywheel by hand and see if the pistons are moving

[PhilG]

thats a thought ..tried the IM thingie.

[Sportwin]

If you want to do a little troubleshooting then pull the cylinder head off and inspect the cylinders for damage. I don't think you are gonna hurt anything given the description of your problem. When the engine won't turn over either the powerhead is locked-up or the lower unit is locked-up. You can try putting a socket on the flywheel nut and use a breaker bar to try and turn it by hand.
Check the drain plug on the gearcase and check the gearlube for water/metal shavings.
Did the #1 plug have "silvery" color on the insulator of the plug?

[Lockjaw]

I tore up a lower unit on my 70 and it locked the motor up tight as a drum.

[PhilG]

Thanks for taking time to reply. I will try to check it again in the morning.

"Did the #1 plug have "silvery" color on the insulator of the plug?"

yeah it did . .it looked sorta charred with some silverish glitter. .I was looking for metal flakes and these may have been but they didn't have much texture with picking at em . .but it did have the color you are asking about.

[PhilG]

thats interesting. I know I didn't hit anything and the lower unit seems fine. I can't help but wonder if the oil injection failed. I have read a lot of people ditch it and premix . .this keeps eating at me.

[John from IL]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PhilG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> I can't help but wonder if the oil injection failed. I have read a lot of people ditch it and premix . .this keeps eating at me.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Remember 1 thing: If the oil injection fails, it will scorch ALL 3 cylinders, NOT just 1.

-John

[PhilG]

Brought the motor to a service guy today. Seems on the 96 there was a service notice back in the day about the number 1 cylinder overheating. I believe there are mods for the water pump and carb jets for it . . .looks like what has happened. I won't know the extent of the damage untila little later . but I believe I found the culprit. If I get it repaired, I am going to bypass the oil injection as well as start premixing. Thanks to all who gave advice and tips!

phil

[Bassmeister]

Why premix?? You said yourself that the problem was overheat?? Just curious.

[PhilG]

I guess having the separate oiler bothers me as one more point of failure. From reading, it seems like a standard practice for the oil injected 2 strokes.

[PhilG]

[Lockjaw]

Something is damaged. It doesn't look real bad, but I bet it would get bad in a hurry if you kept running it.

Just so you know, my engine lost the middle cylinder, and I had it rebuilt, and they did disconnect the oil injection. It was an 87 model though.

Great little engine.

[PhilG]

it lost a ring on cylinder 1. I "think" it would clean up with a hone, but I am going to head and do a complete rebuild since it is already opened up. I am leaning towards bypassing the oiler for piece of mind. After reading and discussing with Evinrude tech, what I experienced was a known issue and they altered the cooling system and made the fuel mix richer. They did their best to notify customers, but of course I got the boat second or third hand and it was never applied. During this rebuild, the service note mods will be applied and I hope to get a lot of use out of the motor. I have heard these 70s were good motors so I guess I will invest in it a little. Still going to be cheaper than a new one :-)
Thanks for the reply!