1979 Evinrude 15hp repair

[Jogerst]

Hello all,

I have a 1979 Evinrude 15 hp that I got this summer. It sat on the floor of a boathouse for around 15 years until we found it this summer. I just picked it up today from a carb rebuild as well as water pump replace. The shop said they ran it and it ran fine, but when i got home i hooked it up to ear muffs and its still not running right. It is a PAIN to start, many cranks, finally starts, dies, repeat. I have tried starter fluid, don't like it. The spark plugs both spark, tested both. What could the problem be??? It won't idle well either. I plan on calling the shop back tomorrow, but would prefer to fix small things myself for free.

Any help is welcome and much appreciated!!!

BD

 

[coolbri70]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 15hp repair

did the shop run it on your tank? same gas ? fuel mixture? make sure the fuel lines are connected, mine was loose at the motor just slightly and caused similar problems

 

[kodibass]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 15hp repair

will it stay running if you squeeze the primer bulb? try a second fuel hose & tank with known fresh gas/oil mix, raise tank above engine to allow gravity feed check, make sure tank vent is open, does the choke lever work the flap, what spark plugs are you using & is the gap around 30-35. If all above checks out do a compression check.

 

[wrmdunker]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 15hp repair

Will run best on Champion plugs. New plugs every year is the best and cheapest investment. The hose may be dried and cracked with age. For $30 you can get a new hose and primer that is made for ethanol blended fuel, the old hoses will be deterioated. If it runs fine with the fuel tank up high, then place it low (below the prop) and this will test the performance of the fuel pump. You may also want to look into de-carbing the motor with Seafoam. Search the forums and you will find the procedure.

 

[kbait]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 15hp repair

Any reputable shop would have you bring it back and give it a quick barrel test. If it's a carb issue, they should take care of it for free.

Possible issues.. choke lever installed upside down (long slot needs to be 'up' to fully actuate choke). Link/sync off so the throttle plate doesn't open enough in neutral's full advanced throttle safety stop.

Barrel testing more closely approximates running conditions.. w/exhaust backpressure, but it shouldn't make much of a difference just to start..

Good luck!

 

[Rick.]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 15hp repair

Good suggestions above and it could be as simple as fresh fuel. No disrespect but I think Kbait is mixed up on the choke pull. The long slit goes down (down accommodates the full swing of the choke linkage plate). Best of luck. Rick.

 

[kbait]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 15hp repair

No disrespect taken Rick! But I'm right.. the choke lever fits on top of the metal choke arm, and that arm travels further as distance is increased from the choke butterfly shaft.. long slot 'up' to get full stroke. (believe me.. I know)

 

[Rick.]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 15hp repair

kbait. I'll have to look at that more carefully. I put the long slit down always. Here is my reasoning and I hope I can explain it. If you think of the choke arm as a pendulum and the choke pull as a fulcrum the travel on the choke arm is greater as the distance from the fulcrum gets larger. Therefore the longer slot would go down as the choke plate needs more travel distance on the down side. I try to never say never. LOL. I get what you're saying and will look into it. Rick.

 

[kbait]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 15hp repair

Well explained Rick.. that exact reasoning is why I know! I figured the same thing way back when and installed 'long slot down', until I found the choke plate wouldn't close all the way. I just looked at mine (to be sure), and the longer slot is indeed facing 'up'..

The shorter slot facing down actually pulls the 'shaped' choke arm quicker, and the longer slot above gives the distal end of the arm room to move forward fully, closing the choke valve.

 

[Jogerst]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 15hp repair

The shop ran it on their own tank, my tank has three month old gas in a sealed container, so its still good. I am going to try it with brand new gas. Also, the tank and hose are only 6 months old, bought them when I found the motor. I will try the gravity feed and I am also going to call the shop back tomorrow. I know this is dumb, but the plugs in the motor now are the same ones that were in it when I found it. Would replacing those make quite a difference? They still spark, but I'm going to assume they are way too old. I am new to this stuff, so cut me a bit of slack haha

BD

 

[coolbri70]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 15hp repair

I ask about the gas and fuel connections because I think it's what's different from when you ran it and the shop did. The shop said it ran good, did they not want to sell a fix if it didn't

 

[Fishing4Walleyes]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 15hp repair

Well explained Rick.. that exact reasoning is why I know! I figured the same thing way back when and installed 'long slot down', until I found the choke plate wouldn't close all the way. I just looked at mine (to be sure), and the longer slot is indeed facing 'up'..

The shorter slot facing down actually pulls the 'shaped' choke arm quicker, and the longer slot above gives the distal end of the arm room to move forward fully, closing the choke valve.

I agree with kbait. I figured this out the hard way when my choke wouldn't work right. If I recall the knob stuck out a bit because it couldn't go all the way in with the short notch up.

 

[Jogerst]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 15hp repair

I checked the choke knob today, it appears to push all the way back in and looks the same as when it did before I had it serviced, but will look inside it tomorrow.

Coolbri70, could you explain? I am a little confused.

I also called the shop back today, bringing it back in Thursday. They said it probably needs new spark plugs and that it probably needs to be tuned. They said they were going to run it in the barrel and tune it, does that sound right? Don't want to go back there if its not necessary...hour drive.

 

[coolbri70]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 15hp repair

the shop ran it they said it ran fine, now they say maybe plugs and a tune up, too bad they didn't sell you that fix last time and saved you the drive:facepalm: instead of "it ran fine" did you check the fuel line and connection? sometimes new stuff is faulty. i guess if the shop runs it on thier tank and it runs fine again, then check the tank fittings maybe some blockage from manufactuer defect? if you take it to the shop have them run it again to verify that it still runs poorly, if it runs fine again then plugs and tune up won't likely solve the problem. does the ball get hard when you pump it?

 

[Jogerst]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 15hp repair

I checked the fittings and they fit well. Also, the ball will get hard when i pump it and it also stays hard even when the motor cuts off. So i don't think it is a fuel deprivation issue. Any ideas what that could mean?

 

[nwcove]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 15hp repair

id suspect your three month old fuel... thats if the shop you are dealing with has a good reputation. other than that i'd try to set up an appointment as opposed to dropping the motor off. that way you should be able to see for yourself how the motor runs at the shop as compared to when you get it home. jmo

 

[Jogerst]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 15hp repair

Friends have dealt with this shop before and have all been pleased, and they have been in business since 1970. So I have some faith in what they're telling me.

With the fuel, I just had the carb rebuilt. Will three-four month old fuel mess up the carb again? Just had it redone....don't want to venture down this road again. Have i already done damage?

 

[Fishing4Walleyes]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 15hp repair

Friends have dealt with this shop before and have all been pleased, and they have been in business since 1970. So I have some faith in what they're telling me.

With the fuel, I just had the carb rebuilt. Will three-four month old fuel mess up the carb again? Just had it redone....don't want to venture down this road again. Have i already done damage?

I do not believe three month old fuel will mess your carb up again but I welcome other opinions if anyone has more info. When gas if left in the carb for so long that it dries out it leaves a varnish residue in the jets and everywhere else. That varnish plugs the jets and gums up the floats. The alcohol in the fuel also eats things up over time when it is left in there. Alcohol also absorbs water like a sponge so it is possible that your gas has more water in it than your motor will tolerate.

 

[Jogerst]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 15hp repair

The tank has been sealed for the most part, but the cap was not on tight for a few weeks when we had some heavy Florida summer rains. And I'm sure the humidity here doesn't help. Probably water in the gas, will dispose of this gas, get fresh, run it, and see what happens. Haven't taken the motor back to the shop yet, so fingers crossed that its just the gas!

 

[Jogerst]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 15hp repair

Ok, so I took the motor back in December and they tuned it up and all was good. Ran it in a barrel when i got home and it stayed running for a solid 20-30 minutes which it had not done before and now cranks on 1-2 pulls.

I took it out last week and in the middle of the lake it cut off. Thankful for my paddles! But when i cut off I was not able to get it restarted, i pumped the bulb and it was solid but the motor just would not crank. Could it be spark plugs this time? I do not believe the shop replaced them because they did not charge me for anything when i took it back.

Duck season is almost through, so any and all help is MUCH appreciated!!!!

-Jogerst