ok now what??? :(

[pro350hydro]

thanks for the info on the clicks. i was just going off what darrel sorensen said the motor was running at when he had it, and went from there.

Then listen to him, if he has ran that motor before. I was just saying if your buddy says, "I'm only running 28 clicks" that doesn't mean it will work for you. Don't want you to hurt your motor.

[GuyWithTheCoolBoat]

went and pulled off manifold and saw nothing any different than before.. slight wear and tear but nothing unacceptable. no gouges discoloration cracks or anything of the sort on either cylinders piston or wall. pulled off the head.. didnt notice any bad gasket.. cracks in head... BUT did notice an unusual ammount of oil setting in the bottom of both cylinders. dark brown/black and some was a bit lighter brown.. im assuming there might be a bit of water because of the slightly lighter oil (at least this was the case with a blown head gasket in an old truck of mine.. lighter oil when mixed with water, regardless of oil color) . but i saw nothing of water on the cylinder walls or accumulated anywhere... just the unusual amount of oil.. any ideas? im also assuming the manifold gasket isnt reusable.. and i probably wouldnt want to as its starting to look a bit iffy... but will probably work for an hour more of testing without any worries if i HAD to do something. im going to spray some wd40 inside there as recommended because unknown until now wd stands for water displacement... so thats next up and then i guess well go for there. on a second note i shook everything around... couldnt hear any clinks rattles of clunks or anything unusual... so im ruling that out at this point.

[Jack Stotts]

As stated above from Daren you can reuse the head gasket without a problem. The exhaust gasket will be ok most likely. TJ probably has a few of each. I can't think of any other cause for the loss of speed other than what has been mentioned. Timing, fuel, and cooling covers just about everthing. Hang in there. Now if it were a mod I may have some more thoughts. Jack

[rball82]

Pipe

I really thought Big Don was right on about the pipe. Unfortunately been there, and 10 miles an hour loss is right on.

[GuyWithTheCoolBoat]

thanks a lot guys. everybody seems to be leaning towards tuning pipe.. im heading up to my shop now to take the motor off and flip her upside down and shake it. i called rick at rpm marine looking for a little one on one phone time and during this he mentioned that carbon build up can cushion the cast aluminum tuning pipe and where it breaks off up top has the most build up. if you flip it upside down youll hear it clink a lot better. i havent gotten my paws on a dial indicator but monday when johnston gets back from his race ill be ordering that and a new head and exhaust gasket just to rule out a few things (im also thinking the lighter colored oil in the cylinders is cause of a little bit of water being mixed in... so both gaskets will be on their way. hopefully i can get all this resolved and get back on the ball before top o.... it was supposed to be my first race

[GuyWithTheCoolBoat]

thanks guys. flipped the motor over and heard the clink. whoever called broken tuning pipe nailed it. i pulled it apart to find 3 pieces of it rattling around but cushioned by carbon so couldnt hear it. will be ordering it and getting ready for top o. if any of you guys are coming to the top o this year be sure to find me (probably around asking more questions.... just kidding) and ill be sure to thank you properly and maybe tilt back a cold one or two if youd like.

[Jack Stotts]

Glad you found the problem! I'll be at Top O. Will look you up. Jack