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Need help with white smoke from Evinrude 150hp

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Obewon9449

New member
Hey guys, new member here. I'm typically very detailed so I apologize if this turns into a long post.

tl;dr: 1997 Evinrude 150hp outboard. Consistent white smoke coming out of the bottom of the motor (by the propeller). Help?

My mother in-law inherited a 1997 Javelin 379 FS with a 150hp Evinrude outboard early last year. The boat originally started fine & only had an issue with a little white smoke coming from the motor. Unfortunately, the day before taking the boat out on her first run, we had a storm come through & actually sank part of the boat (picture attached).

Thankfully we were able to get the boat out of the water but then, of course, it would not even attempt to turn over (this was this past September). After a little bit of work on the motor, I went over to their house today & the boat fired right up for the first time in almost a year! I was able to keep the motor running for over five minutes before shutting it off because there was consistent white smoke flowing out at the bottom of the motor, by the propeller. I do have a video of the smoke, but cannot seem to upload it to this site (I can email the video, if it helps?).

My question is where do I go from here? I have minimal knowledge (at best) when it comes to boats so I am uncertain on what to check next. I've done a little research online & from what I read, it seems that white smoke is typically from water getting into places where it shouldn't be - is this correct? Is it possible that there is a leaking gasket inside the motor? Also, I do believe that it is also worth noting that the gas currently in the tank is over 2 years old (we do plan to have the gas replaced once we find a place that takes old gas).

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated!
 

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So first off, a submerged outboard needs to be started ASAP to burn out moisture from inside the case and prevent rusting of the crank and bearings. If the sinking happened 7 months ago and you're just now getting it started you could have internal problems.

Do you have much experience with outboards? If not, it might be worth the $$ to take this to a boat mechanic and ask them to assess the health of the engine. With this being partially sunk and setting for a long time there might be a lot of things happening here that will be difficult to provide sufficient help to you.

The exit for exhaust on these outboards is through the prop, that's why you're seeing it there. White smoke can be steam coming out the exhaust from water entering the cylinders. The smoke could also just be from the oil burning with the fuel...this is the nature of a 2-stroke engine.

What is your water source when you run the engine? Are you using a garden hose and muffs, are you submerging the lower unit in a tub, or is this with the boat floating on the water?

When you run the engine should see steady stream of water coming out the telltale which is on the back of the motor just below the latch for the motor cover. If you are not seeing water come from this telltale it means you don't have proper water flow to the engine and it's getting hot. If this were the case, and assuming your electrical system is all in tact, you should be getting a warning horn and a light on your System Check gauge showing 'Motor Hot'.

The the boat partially sunk you'll want to completely empty both the fuel and oil tanks and refill them with fresh gas and Evinrude 2-stroke oil.

KJ
 
Everything Kevin said and is the VRO connected?. If the oil tank was submerged there could be water in it. If there is water in it it sits on the bottom of the tank and is the first thing the VRO picks up. If the fuel tank was under water same thing. Did you replace the fuel?
 
Thank you for your help, Kevinj!

Unfortunately I do not have much experience with outboards and taking this motor to a boat mechanic may not be possible for us. I do have a decent amount of knowledge with car engines & I hope that some of that knowledge may be transferable to this outboard.

The water source that we use is just a simple garden hose with muffs & we do have a steady stream of water coming out of the telltale.

We've taken the case off the motor & there appears to be no signs of rust. In fact, everything looks clean & new. Is there anything in-particular that we should look for with the case off?

Also, I should mention that we live in Florida so the boat did sink in salt water. I just spoke to my in-laws & they said that they cleaned the motor & tried starting it after it sunk, but were unable to keep the motor running.

Finally, would it be possible for me to send you a video of the smoking motor to your email & you can help us decide if it's normal or not?
 
So you are running fuel out of the sunken boat that was in saltwater. Put a 25-1 mix in a separate tank and try to start if. White exhaust is usually water in the engine. And if any of that powerhead was in salt water it needs to come apart.
 
I had excessive smoke on a 96 200 Ocean Runner and found a hole in my VRO diaphragm, rebuilt the pump and smoke is now not crazy like it was. My oil consumption has been reduced.
 
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