'57 Evinrude Lark 35 Q's

spanpitts57 · Aug 2, 2005

i just picked up a SpanAmerica 15' with and evinrude lark 35 (#25532 15342). the engine ran fine 13 years ago (i rode in the boat back then) and was stored inside. i went through and cleaned up all of the electircal contacts and the starter and electric choke operate. it's looking like i get no spark though, i didn't see any on the fresh plugs and my timing light didn't blink. i just found out today that parts are scarce for this engine, so i want to find out if it's worth putting money towards. first question is what kind of compression should i see on cranking? pull starting feels good, but i have no frame of reference for an outboard. i don't want to put all this effort into a worn out motor. next is if there is an ignition kill circuit? i have a seloc manual on the way but i won't get it until next week. after fresh plugs (champion j6c), what is the next thing to check for spark? i found new coils from sierra coil (47-5181) for $15, are they direct fit or will i need to custom fit them? Is there anything i should do to the cooling system to make sure the water passageways are clear? I'm looking forward to getting this beast (if you can call it that) out on the water. any info is much appreciated. Thanks, Mike

Chinewalker · Aug 2, 2005

Re: '57 Evinrude Lark 35 Q's

Who told you parts were scarce for that engine? All of the basic maintenance parts are readily and cheaply available. The sierra coils will bolt right in - no mods necessary. Highly recommend replacing the condensers and points while you're in there. You can replace all of the magneto components for under $50.00 and it'll last another 40-50 years. That motor used the choke to kill it - no stop circuit in the ignition. However, it is quite easy to rig something to kill the motor if you want to by making a switch that will short the points against each other. Invest in a new impeller, too. I would get the motor running before worrying about the cooling passages. If the motor shows signs of not cooling properly (assuming you've installed a new waterpump impeller) only then would I move into the rest of the system. With the possibility of broken bolts, etc. the old adage of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" can sometimes hold quite true. Most gauges should punch on the high side of 90psi on those old Big Twins, and preferably higher than 100. Due to the rich oil mixtures it would probably benefit from a good decarboning, too. Good luck! There's lots of those beasties still around (just search the forums!!) so there's lots of folks who can commiserate with you if you get in a bind... - Scott

CATransplant · Aug 2, 2005

Re: '57 Evinrude Lark 35 Q's

Well, if all you have is bad coils, that's no big deal. They're not expensive. [Edited/deleted paragraph about kill circuit...not on that year.] 13 years is a long time for an outboard to sit, but if it was running well when put away, odds are that you can get it back in service OK. There's a great FAQ in the FAQ section on getting a long-stored outboard back into service. You might want to read through it. Here's the link: http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=36;t=000033 Also, you really want to check the compression on your old-timer. A compression tester's fairly cheap. But run through the steps in that FAQ first. Don't scrape things up too much on those dry old cylinders and bearings. Let us know how you're doing and ask away with any questions you may have.

spanpitts57 · Aug 2, 2005

Re: '57 Evinrude Lark 35 Q's

Originally posted by Chinewalker: Who told you parts were scarce for that engine? All of the basic maintenance parts are readily and cheaply available. The sierra coils will bolt right in - no mods necessary. Highly recommend replacing the condensers and points while you're in there. You can replace all of the magneto components for under $50.00 and it'll last another 40-50 years. - Scott

the local evinrude dealer told me they only support about 30-35 years back since bombardier bought evinrude/johnson. he might have beend talking about major replacement stuff. as far as points and condenser, how do you access them? do i need to pull the flywheel? i can see the condenser in there, but it's tucked way under the flywheel. if it's too involved to explain here i can wait for the manual. thanks, Mike

CATransplant · Aug 2, 2005

Re: '57 Evinrude Lark 35 Q's

Hi, Yes, you do have to pull the flywheel to access the coils, points, and condensers. If you do a search here for the word "flywheel," you'll find a lot of information. Essentially, you need something to hold the flywheel still, a socket the right size for the nut on the crankshaft, an automotive harmonic balancer puller, and a torque wrench for putting it back on at the proper 105 ft-lb torque. You may need some parts at some time from your dealer, so don't make him too angry. Lots of parts are still available from BRP, but you have to go it with the part number or they look at you funny. Other parts, like ignition and carburetor parts are all available through Sierra Marine, which sells in the USA through NAPA auto parts dealers. I'd go ahead and wait for that manual before pulling the flywheel. It's hard to explain some of the details of changing coils, etc. in words.

spanpitts57 · Aug 2, 2005

Re: '57 Evinrude Lark 35 Q's

thanks for the info. there's no bad blood with the dealer, he just said he thought i would need to find uncommon parts elsewhere. i think that's good advice about waiting for the manual. i don't want to lose track of all of the linkages on the engine. talk to you all soon. thanks, Mike

spanpitts57 · Aug 4, 2005

Re: '57 Evinrude Lark 35 Q's

so i managed to not wait for the manual, i pulled the flywheel, cleaned and gapped the points, and the beast fired right up. now i find more problems... apparently there is exhaust getting into the cooling water. there is a small plate on the left side of the outdrive with 5, 1/8" holes, i'm assuming this is the water inlet. then there are some downward facing holes on the botom of the horizontal fin/plate under the water line, i'm assuming these are the outlets for cooling water. there is exhaust coming out of these outlet holes with some gusto, and the engine has a hard time idling at any needle setting( i have to keep it at half throttle... the 'start' position on the throttle lever.) also i checked compression, both cylinders sit at about 110 psi. it starts with one pull, or very short time cranking. so here are the questions, where could exhaust mix with cooling water since the head gasket is seemingly intact? (i guess just the cylnder seal on the h. gasket is intact from knowing compression...) what material is the water jacket/jug? i'm assuming there is a crack or corrosion, is it weldable? what rpm should this engine idle at? after figuring out the exhaust mess, could anyone suggest a source for new points? the sierra maine catalog only has a listing for '58 and newer evinrude 35's and mine is a 57. thanks, Mike

Paul Moir · Aug 4, 2005

Re: '57 Evinrude Lark 35 Q's

The water inlet is directly behind the prop on the exhaust "fin". Those five holes in the inlet bypass plate are to bleed off excess water at higher rpms. They are not the inlet. The large hole in the back of the midsection is where the cooling water is supposed to come out. Did any water come out from there? Were you running the outboard in water covering the seam between the lower unit and the midsection? Sierra's 18-5156 points will fit your engine although they don't have it listed. Your local Johnny/Rude dealer will be able to provide them as well. Inspect your ignition coils for cracks in the insulation. If they're the new style black or green ones, don't expect to find one.

The engine should idle at 750-650 RPMs. Does the low speed carb control seem to "do much"? Did you see any evidence of oil up around the points and coils?

cheburashka · Aug 4, 2005

Re: '57 Evinrude Lark 35 Q's

I can't help you as much as the experts here, but I am ressurecting an identical motor and I'm having similar results. From what I understand, the high speed idle circuit affects the idle circuit, so you can't really tune the idle until you've had it running under power and tuned the fast jet in. I think the exhaust thing is normal. When I run mine in a trash can full of water it bubbles and thrashes pretty seriously. Let me know if you need any comparison information. Mine is pretty well complete. Seems to be a very nice motor.

spanpitts57 · Aug 5, 2005

Re: '57 Evinrude Lark 35 Q's

Originally posted by Paul Moir: The water inlet is directly behind the prop on the exhaust "fin". Those five holes in the inlet bypass plate are to bleed off excess water at higher rpms. They are not the inlet. The large hole in the back of the midsection is where the cooling water is supposed to come out. Did any water come out from there? Were you running the outboard in water covering the seam between the lower unit and the midsection? Sierra's 18-5156 points will fit your engine although they don't have it listed. Your local Johnny/Rude dealer will be able to provide them as well. Inspect your ignition coils for cracks in the insulation. If they're the new style black or green ones, don't expect to find one. the coils look super clean. i didn't see any cracks. i can't remember what color they were. The engine should idle at 750-650 RPMs. Does the low speed carb control seem to "do much"? Did you see any evidence of oil up around the points and coils?

the water was up over the 5 holes, up to the next horizontal fin, i don't know where the seam is. if the large hole in the back of the midsection also has the exhaust outlet pointing straight down then there was no water exiting there, only exhaust. should there be any exhaust coming out of the the tiny downward facing holes down low on the unit? the low speed needle does have an effect, when i lean it out, it backfires at low rpm, when i richen it, it runs fairly smoothly. i need to get a tach on there, i don't have a good idea of how fast it's actually running, i'm used to 4 stroke engines. thanks so much for the info. Mike

spanpitts57 · Aug 11, 2005

Re: '57 Evinrude Lark 35 Q's

alright, so the engine is ready for the water, i had to relocate some bug cacoons from the coolant inlet to the garbage can, and install a new impeller to be on the safe side. i was just wondering about a good strategy for tuning once i put it into the water. obvisouly i need to warm it up first. after that do i just tune it like any other 2 stroke? my experience has been to start rich, run it under load and lean the main needle out until it peaks the rpm, then richen up very slightly. for the low speed needle lean the idle needle until it sputters at idle, then richen it slightly. yes? no? let me know. this thing is hitting the water saturday. Thanks, Mike

CATransplant · Aug 11, 2005

Re: '57 Evinrude Lark 35 Q's

You've got it right. Go out and enjoy your outboard. BTW, err a little on the rich side on the high speed needle. You don't want to run that Big Twin too lean.

spanpitts57 · Aug 12, 2005

Re: '57 Evinrude Lark 35 Q's

scanning around on the message board made me want to confirm one thing. how much water should come out of the tell tale/exhaust port? water does not 'pee' out of the tell tale holes, it mixes with the exhaust and comes out as a messy stream with the exhaust. it looks like a fair amount of water, but not smooth streams. is this ok? also, i borrrowed an infrared thermometer from work. what is the actual overheating surface temperature of the cylinders roughly? the mechanic here said if water boils off of the jugs, its too hot. just wondering if i should change the head gasket before hitting the water. the last owner included it, but couldn't remember why he bought it. someone in another message thread (i can't find it now) mentioned that even with good compression the head gasket could be leaking exhaust into the water jacket. i just don't want to smoke this motor for no good reason. Mike

CATransplant · Aug 12, 2005

Re: '57 Evinrude Lark 35 Q's

Your '57 doesn't have a thermostat, so the temp will be lower than a lot of outboards. After it's run a while, you should be able to touch the top of the block, near the heads and keep your fingers there for a few seconds. That would be roughly 140-150 degrees. If water is coming out with the exhaust and it's a "fair amount" you should be OK. Since you've changed the impeller, I wouldn't worry too much, but do check the block temperature after running it awhile on the water. Let us know how you came out!

Goodoleboy · Aug 12, 2005

Re: '57 Evinrude Lark 35 Q's

Manual fo my 87 40hp says heads should not run above 175 degres and not below 120 degres. Good Luck!

spanpitts57 · Aug 15, 2005

Re: '57 Evinrude Lark 35 Q's

this thing runs great. had a good time out on the water saturday. i fouled a plug about 2 minutes after starting, changed it out and ran 12 gallons of gas with no hiccups. who would have thought i'd get a solid running boat with engine and trailer for $150. i sure didn't think it would be this solid. thanks for all of your advice. now i need too get to rebuilding the seats.. Thanks, Mike

spanpitts57 · Sep 6, 2005

Re: '57 Evinrude Lark 35 Q's

so i managed to find just one hiccup after 3 outings. for some reason the engine unloads at full throttle. at part throttle, it pulls the boat, no problem. increase throttle and the rpms come way up, and the boat slows way down. checked the shear pin, it is intact. there is no rubber hub on this prop though, there looks to be a steel or brass hub pressed into the aluminum prop, but that feels tight. i haven't had a chance to really crank on it to see if the slip is happening at this interface. is there any other place on the lower unit it could slip, but grab at lower throttle? thanks, Mike

Paul Moir · Sep 6, 2005

Re: '57 Evinrude Lark 35 Q's

There is a rubber hub though, you just can't see it. It's between the brass hub and the aluminium prop. Check it for slipping by marking the brass part against the aluminium part, take it out for a spin, and see if your marks still line up. Alternatively, you try to somehow load the blades with around 90ft/lbs. There is no mechanical fault that can cause that sort of symptom on your outboard without horrible noises.

spanpitts57 · Sep 18, 2005

Re: '57 Evinrude Lark 35 Q's

a new prop later, and i've found some horrible noises. i pulled apart the lower unit and the drive 'dog' teeth on the splinded hub (that engages fwd and rev) has the engagement corners rounded over. i guess my options are: -buy a new hub if i can find one -build up the rounded corners by welding and grind back to shape -grind the teeth back until the shape is restored, if there is enough material left. so this piece is hardened, if i weld to it, will it be too soft to hold up? can anyone suggest a filler rod and possibly a way to heat treat to restore hardness without making it brittle? i'm worried that this piece will be hard to replace. the bevel gear engagement surfaces show some wear, but nowhere near as bad as the hub. Thanks, Mike

steelespike · Feb 26, 2015

On some of the old Evinrudes you can switch the forward dog with the reverse dog and flip the clutch dog.
Refurbishing the dogs has been done.The dogs are expected to wear over time and will fail prematurely if the idle is too high.
Also it is suggested to shift crisply neither dragging it into gear nor mashing it in too fast.
At your motors age worn dogs are no surprise.

'57 Evinrude Lark 35 Q's

Cadet

Fleet Admiral

Admiral

Cadet

Admiral

Cadet

Cadet

Admiral

Senior Chief Petty Officer

Cadet

Cadet

Admiral

Cadet

Admiral

Chief Petty Officer

Cadet

Cadet

Admiral

Cadet

Supreme Mariner