Blue smoke question + taking in some water

[karfreak09]

Hello,

I am fairly new here, although I've done my fair share of reading some of the great info on here. Thank you for that.
I purchased a 1994 speedster a month or so ago, and I've worked out a variety of kinks so far (fuel gauge, seats reupholstered and so on).
Problem 1: The boat seems to smoke quite a bit, i know some is normal, but how much is too much? The boat puts out a heap of blue smoke at startup, and still a pretty good amount when cruising slowly around 2500-300 rpm. It seems to go away after that, but it could be the wind blowing it away since I'm moving quickly. The compression is decent on every cylinder, 143-148. The engines seem to start and run well and produce enough power to get up on plane an drive around 43 mph max (gps). Is the boat supposed to be able to go faster than this with 2 people in it? I would appreciate some advice on what could be making it smoke so much, oil pump adjustment, or some seals...
Problem 2: The boat takes on water in the engine/bildge area when driving, and only when driving/engines on. I can sit still in water with the engines off and no water will come in. I am thinking that this has to do with some seals being deteriorated and leaking but only when the jet pumps are pressurized. I would appreciate any advice, including jet pump rebuild, which i am considering.
Thanks for your time.

 

[Dr Honda]

1) Smoking at idle is normal... but once the engine is cleared out... it should be minimal. I would check to make sure the cable to the oil pump is hooked up correctly, and it properly adjusted. Since the pump arm has a spring... I find that they are hooked up wrong all the time. Basically, when someone rebuilds the carbs... the arm swings around far enough to put the cable on the arm... backward. Just make sure the pump arm is moving with the throttle, and adjusted for idle.

45-50 MPH is normal for an early speedster if everything is right. So... 43 is OK, since there is probably some pump wear, and the engines aren't 100% But... since you will be looking at the oil pump... make sure the carbs are opening all the way, and the mesh in the air-box is clean. An extra 100 rpm will get you into the 45 range.

2) Yes... the pumps pressurize... but only between the impeller and the nozzle. On the back side... they are creating vacuum. Also... since you aren't complaining about cavitation... I would say the drive shaft seals are OK. I would be more inclined to say that you have a water leak in the cooling system. The common places are the weld plugs in the pipe. (they rot out) or around the cylinders. (They split if the boat wasn't properly winterized) But... you could just have a loose hose.

Most of the time, you wont' get enough pressure on a garden hose... so take some tools to the lake, and grab a buddy, and go for a drive to look for the leak.

 

[blacter]

1) Smoking at idle is normal... but once the engine is cleared out... it should be minimal.

It there any way to minimize the smoking at startup? It's embarrassing to leave that cloud behind as I pull away from the ramp.

 

[LouDoo]

You could have leaky crank seals, not an uncommon problem, you might be able to minimize the smoke by pinching off the oil feed line when you are not using the boat. Be sure to un-pinch the line prior to launching the boat.

Lou

 

[karfreak09]

Thanks for the help guys, i'll look into it some more this weekend. i tried to look for any signs of leaking, but could not really see any. truth is i didn't look in the weld plug area, i did check the hoses, and those seem to be in reasonable shape. Are the weld plugs similar to expansion blocks on a car engine? so would i expect to find them in the side of the block?... I do believe this leak source is a possible scenario, because i do recall the water in the bildge being warm... i just though it may be from the exhaust making contact with it, but this sounds more likely.

 

[karfreak09]

Sorry, i started speaking prior to using my resources, i went back and read up on these weld plugs, you are reffering to the plugs in the exhaust ? correct? ok, now i know where to look. Thanks

 

[Dr Honda]

It there any way to minimize the smoking at startup? It's embarrassing to leave that cloud behind as I pull away from the ramp.

Start it at home... and give it a couple revs to burn out the extra oil. As Lou said... the center seals could be leaking.

 

[brock1]

where in michigan are you ??

 

[karfreak09]

Livonia, in wayne county. You?

 

[karfreak09]

So i checked out the weld plugs in the exhaust and i took a picture of the worst one. This is the only one with some corrosion that perforated the paint. The others show no signs of corrosion. I wont know for sure until i test it this weekend, but i don't think that there is an actual hole here. Not yet anyway... the leak i am talking about has to be bigger than this. I'd say that after 10-15 minutes of driving around there is a gallon or 2 in the bilge/ski locker area, which the bilge pump then spits out fairly quickly... the leak im looking for seems like it would be substantial sized.
In your opinion how bad is this plug? if you can tell from the picture...

 

[karfreak09]

Anyone have pictures of the proper oil injection pump routing?