Re: 1976 Johnson 35HP carbon buildup

[billw]

quote Fisherman6:

Was the water leaking near the top cylinder? Any water getting into the cylinder certainly could have washed away the carbon buildup that was there. It may have looked just like the bottom cylinder before a little water got in while running.
-Ben

I will second that one. We used to see leaks such as yours develop into small, eroded channels for water in the aluminum, if the blown head gasket was not brought to our attention as a performance issue by the owner, in time. It is really amazing just how clean the water will eventually wash away the carbon, especially on that particular family of engines.

Long live American manufacturing!