# How bad am I screwed?



## marn1186 (Dec 27, 2009)

I have a 1996 20HP Power Mercury outboard engine - 2 stroke. 

I ran 20 gallons of gas with NO oil added. 

How F'd am I?

The engine ran great... FYI and never showed signs of problems. 

Should I let it sink to the bottom of the lake ?


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## bigrackmack (Aug 10, 2004)

If in never seized up its a miracle in my eyes.....if it still runs, mix some oil with your gas and run it......Mack


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## Mitch (Jan 10, 2003)

Personally, for the cost of a new head gasket I would pop the head off and take a look around for any damage.


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## Boozer (Sep 5, 2010)

If it didn't seize, it may have scored the sleeve and/or piston...

I personally would just properly mix the oil/gas and run it and see how it runs, if everything seems fine, you are probably fine...

I only say that because you say it never ran bad so you hopefully got lucky and there was enough left over lube in the motor to keep it from seizing...

If you do pull the head, the main thing you will want to look at is the piston rings and piston as they would have been the first to get damaged. If they are not damaged, everything else is likely fine, if they are, check the sleeve and continue on from there...


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## skipper34 (Oct 13, 2005)

If you ran it without oil, you would have never gotten 20 gallons through it. It would have seized far sooner than that. I would have to believe that there was oil in the gas to be able to run 20 gallons thru it. Mix up a new can of gas with oil and let er' rip. Chances are it will be just fine.


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## Sailor (Jan 2, 2002)

Wow ! That used to be a very good motor !


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## Boozer (Sep 5, 2010)

skipper34 said:


> If you ran it without oil, you would have never gotten 20 gallons through it. It would have seized far sooner than that. I would have to believe that there was oil in the gas to be able to run 20 gallons thru it. Mix up a new can of gas with oil and let er' rip. Chances are it will be just fine.


That or...

the gas tank had not really been shaken in a long time and there was a fair amount of oil settled at the bottom of it LOL

I agree, would blow my mind if a 2 stroke engine could run 20 gallons through it and run "fine"...


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## marn1186 (Dec 27, 2009)

Ya I feel like a complete dumb ****. Pretty pissed about it. I added stabil to the gas but that was it. It is a 50:1 mix ratio. 

I hoping to fire her up and pretend it never happened! We will see how lucky I get.


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## hawgeye (Mar 3, 2011)

Does it still roll over? Have compression? If so mix up some fuel with quality oil and see how it runs. They always run the best before they blow! Good luck.

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Ohub Campfire mobile app


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## riverbob (Jan 11, 2011)

skipper34 said:


> If you ran it without oil, you would have never gotten 20 gallons through it. It would have seized far sooner than that. I would have to believe that there was oil in the gas to be able to run 20 gallons thru it. Mix up a new can of gas with oil and let er' rip. Chances are it will be just fine.


 X2....if you have gas left in the tank check it. remember if it not broke don't fix it. good luck. lucky


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## BBD3393 (Apr 9, 2012)

If I were you I would still pull the head off and take a look. You're better of doing it right and making sure everything is ok before you get out on the river and have trouble... just my .02


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

Suggestion: I would add a little bit of an amsoil product designed for your motor to get it back into shape before running it again on a regular basis. Is there a possibility you had mixed oil and maybe forgot about it? Amsoil will only help the motor.


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## marn1186 (Dec 27, 2009)

I definitely did not mix oil with it. Just hoping I get lucky here. Like I said, the motor was running great last summer and the last time I used it.


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## Shoeman (Aug 26, 2000)

Boozer said:


> That or...
> 
> the gas tank had not really been shaken in a long time and there was a fair amount of oil settled at the bottom of it LOL
> 
> I agree, would blow my mind if a 2 stroke engine could run 20 gallons through it and run "fine"...


That's what I'm thinking. Maybe an hour or 2. Now trolling, maybe longer. As a matter of fact we used to reduce the oil to 75-100-1 on a kicker that kept fouling out, but not at high speeds.


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## fishinfever (Feb 14, 2005)

skipper34 said:


> If you ran it without oil, you would have never gotten 20 gallons through it. It would have seized far sooner than that. I would have to believe that there was oil in the gas to be able to run 20 gallons thru it. Mix up a new can of gas with oil and let er' rip. Chances are it will be just fine.


I agree. Somehow oil was in the gas, leftover in the tank, added and forgotten or elves put in there doesn't matter. Just be thankful. If it runs then mix up some gas mark the can as mixed and run it.

Good luck,
FF


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## Ranger Ray (Mar 2, 2003)

Like Sea Foam, Sta-Bil more than likely has pale oil in it, thus providing a small amount of lubricity. The Sta-Bil and leftover oil provided enough lubricity not to cause catastrophic failure. You a lucky man.


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## wyandot (Dec 5, 2013)

skipper34 said:


> If you ran it without oil, you would have never gotten 20 gallons through it. It would have seized far sooner than that. I would have to believe that there was oil in the gas to be able to run 20 gallons thru it. Mix up a new can of gas with oil and let er' rip. Chances are it will be just fine.


20 gallons? Doesn't sound possible. If i had to depend on it, I'd tear it down and have a look. If it won't leave you in harms way WHEN it pukes, I'd mix up some fresh 50-1 and finish it off.


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## marn1186 (Dec 27, 2009)

A lot of trolling was done.


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## rbarta (Aug 20, 2011)

Must of had some good karma to run all that fuel through it and have no problems. I agree you should open it up and see what your dealing with before running it again, by just taking the time you could save yourself in the long run. Good luck, I hope no damage is done


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## TightLines88 (Jan 3, 2009)

I'm rethinking our next fishing trip! LOL


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## GuppyII (Sep 14, 2008)

Most two strokes will idle on straight gasoline. ..no oil needed gas lubricates enough...it is after all petroleum. .. is it good to do that..NO! Can it be done with no harm ..Definitely! You may have gotten lucky.


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## Swampbuckster (Nov 28, 2010)

The purpose of oil running through a 2 stoke is to lubricate everything that moves below the cylinders in the crank case. Connecting rod bearings, crank bearings, etc. Have you checked what the spark plugs look like? Running it without oil would for sure make it lean, showing a white look on your plugs. If you just idled the entire time, you MAY be safe, but I would for sure either do a compression test or pull the head and look at the cylinders. Problem is, even if the upper end looks good, things may have gotten lean and dry in the lower end and you may not have any issues until further down the road, or just shortened the longevity of the motor. If you didn't run the motor at high rpms, you may be ok. Just keep an eye on things and hope for the best. And I don't know how you would have "left over" oil in your tank. 2 stroke oil and gas mix pretty efficiently.


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## tannhd (Dec 3, 2010)

You should be doing spark plug tests on two strokers anyways. 

I bet theyre as white as a Caucasian baby's butt.


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## SullysSteelies (Oct 18, 2009)

A compression test may not show you a whole lot as sometimes scored cylinders can cause an increase in compression. You are definitely lucky that it didn't seize on the water. If you run mix through it now you won't cause any further damage, but sitting all winter with no oil (assuming you didn't fog it down) on the crank could cause you more problems. At this point, I'd not waste any time or money taking a deeper look into it. It's a disposable motor now so if you get a few more seasons out of it you're doing well, if you get 10 years, then you are luckier than any other boat owner out there. If it runs, it runs. Taking the head off to check out the cylinders won't do much unless you're going to scrap it afterward. Depending on the year and what cylinder material it is, it may not be rebuildable anyway. If all else fails...take it to Van's in GR and they can stick a camera in the cylinder to assess the damage without doing a whole lot of wrenching.


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## marn1186 (Dec 27, 2009)

Alright Folks- the moment y'all been waiting for. ... I LET ER RIP! Again ... She ran like a beauty!!!


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## danimalt14 (Aug 30, 2012)

hawgeye said:


> Does it still roll over? Have compression? If so mix up some fuel with quality oil and see how it runs. They always run the best before they blow! Good luck.
> 
> Sent from my SCH-S720C using Ohub Campfire mobile app


They sure do!
Had a oil pump go out on my oil injected bass boat merc.
Ran 5mph faster just before it locked up.
4500 job for a new powerhead:yikes:


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## 2SloSHO (Jan 23, 2008)

marn1186 said:


> Alright Folks- the moment y'all been waiting for. ... I LET ER RIP! Again ... She ran like a beauty!!!
> View attachment 61990


Run it! 

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


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## FishKilla419 (Feb 22, 2008)

I love 2 strokes. 20 gallons seems like alot.
As Bob said. Get some amsoil in some gas and run it though there. They claim you can run 80/1 in motocross 2 strokes designed for 32/1. Their synthetic is supposed to b top of the line. 

Sent from my PC36100 using Ohub Campfire mobile app


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