1979 Evinrude 140 rebuild sucessfull start but problem......?

[Theoutdoorsman]

Fired this rebuild up today for the first time. Was surprised to see it start so quickly!!!! While running, I noticed a small water leak coming from the tale tell nipple coming out of the exhaust housing. Got that problem fixed right away. After restarting, I noticed the lower cowling still had water flowing into it. Imediately I checked, with my hand, the temperature of the heads to insure everything felt nice and cool to the touch. Problem is, the starboard side was considerably hotter than the port side, which felt great!!! I'm going to let things cool down a bit before attempting to restart the powerhead and look for the source of the leak. My guess would be that I have a problem with the thermostats or the thermostat housing. But then again, I noticed a small stream of water spraying from between the lower unit and the exhaust housing, right where the two meet. While I'm allowing things to cool down, anyone have any ideas? I also might add, because the service manual didn't call for it, I didn't add gasket sealer to the powerhead to exhaust gasket. Could this be my problem source? On the upside of things, It sounded great!!! d


EDIT: I also want to add, my water pressure guage is showing 5 psi at an idle, on the hose. Is this normal or should I have consideraby more than this?

 

[Theoutdoorsman]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 140 rebuild sucessfull start but problem......?

Well.........the water leak in the lower cowling was coming from the OTHER end of the tell tale.........LOL.......... Got that fixed.

And with the water streaming out of the lower unit..........I noticed there are two holes in the front of the lower unit under the cavitation plate which I assume are drains. If I'm correct on this, a portion of the lower unit cavity fills with water and these two little holes are the drains for it. Right? I hope so. Can you guys tell I'm jumpy? d

But what about the water pressure. Does the 5 psi sound normal?

The starboard side is still overheating, which I assume is a thermostat problem. Maybe a little dirt got inside the pickup tube, while reinserting the lower unit after the water pump replacement, and stopped up the little holes in the addapter plate? Has anyone tried blowing compressed air through the rubber lines to attempt to dislodge things? Just a thought.

 

[KYHunter2]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 140 rebuild sucessfull start but problem......?

The starboard bank runs a little hotter , on these motors.

How are you checking the temp?

As long as you can lay your hand on the heads , for several secs.

Without it being unbearable, its probably , Ok.

But to be on the safe side , get the required temperature sticks/ crayons.

Then you'll be sure , it is , or isn't cooling correctly.

Its normall for water to come from, those relief holes, you describe.

If you have city water / high press. , don't turn it on full pressure , when using muffs.

You can create leaks , that wouldn't normally be there.

As far as your 5 psi. at idle , sounds , ok.

My 115 hp ., idles in the same range.

There are several variables, as far as press. readings.

How the hose to guage is routed, guage itself, etc.

Just verify , your operating in the proper temp. range.

The remember the press. reading at various rpm's up to WOT.

And watch for any change, indicating a cooling system problem.

KYHunter

KYHunter

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 140 rebuild sucessfull start but problem......?

The thermostat valve body has two pinholes, one for each bank. Were both of these pinholes open? If not, one side will overheat. The water pressure on a guage can vary alightly based on how you have it hooked up. If it is hooked up to replace the telltale, it should read correctly. If you have it teed into the telltale line, it may read lower than it actually is.

 

[Theoutdoorsman]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 140 rebuild sucessfull start but problem......?

emdsapmgr............... The water pressure guage is "T'd" into the tell tale. I did that because I like to visually inspect the flow of water. Seems I have quite a bit more flow now, than I had before the rebuild. Probably because I NOW have thermostats and the correct pressure huh? Also, holes in the thermostat adapter were clear upon installation. That's not to say some crud entered the system upon reinstallation of the lower unit after replacing the water pump though. Sure hope not.

Kyhunter.......... I have tried to locate the Thermomelt Stix you are referring to, but I can't locate anyone locally who carries them. Any way you can help me on this? Where, in KY are you located? You can PM me if you don't want to disclose any information over the net. Or maybe provide me with some info as to where I can purchase them. I'd like to buy a temp guage that would read the temps on both banks, but I'm really not sure what all I'd need. Any help there would be extreemly helpful. Currently I can only check the temps via feeling with my hands. After running the engine at 1000 rpm's for 1 minute +, I can only lay my hand on the head for approximately 10 seconds, give or take a couple. Any more than that, and it will hurt. Maybe I'm just a wimp........... o ..............Thanks...................... ALAN

 

[Cricket Too]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 140 rebuild sucessfull start but problem......?

outdoorsman.....10 seconds is more than enough time to be able to keep your hand on a head. Is that 10 seconds on the starboard or port....or both?

The general rule of thimb is about 3 seconds before you have to take your fingers off, I usually check with my fingertips, when there's nothing else to use. 3 seconds is about 140 degrees, give or take, it's not exact science, but good enough to go by. If you can hold your finger tips on there for a real 10 second count, your definitely not overheating.

You say you let it idle for a minute before you test it with your fingers, I'd let it run a little longer, like 5 minutes or so. It will take a little longer than a minute to get up to operating temp, especially with the cover off of it.

 

[Theoutdoorsman]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 140 rebuild sucessfull start but problem......?

Cricket Too...............I can hold my hand on the port side all day long. The starboard side is where my concern is. Thanks to Kyhunter, I now know the starboard bank is going to be hotter than the port side. What I don't understand is...... why? Too, I can't get it to idle on the muffs under 1000 rpm's for any length of time without having it die on me. It's almost like someone is turning the key off when it gets close to 1000 rpm's. I guess I'm so worried it will tear up, that I don't want to let it go for 5 minutes before making sure this is normal. If it does overheat, what kind of damage should I expect? That's the last thing I want right now. I sure wish I could come up with a dual temperature sending unit for this thing to verify the temps on both banks!!!......... :'( ......... Remember, I'm still green when it comes to rebuilds. This is my first one. Thanks for the tips...............ALAN

 

[hookedonjc]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 140 rebuild sucessfull start but problem......?

I bought a temp gauge with a 20 foot wire (its normaly used to measure water temp )and siliconed it to the head. I mounted the readout on my console. works great . I can see the temp change when the stats open. Gives me a piece of mind. Have you found what caused your original failure yet? You dont want it to bite you again.

Dont Ever Give Up

 

[Theoutdoorsman]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 140 rebuild sucessfull start but problem......?

Hey hookedonjc............Thanks for the tip on the temp guage. I think I remember seeing them in walley world a day or two ago in the sporting goods section.......right? I believe it is digital. As far as the problem source. From what I can come up with, no thermostats were ever installed and possibly caused excess carbon buildup in the exhaust housing due to uneven temperatures withing the engine. More like coking if you ask me. It was about 3/16 inch thick in places. The piston rings in the number 1 cylinder finally stuck and broke. Another piston was showing signs of sticking as well. I just don't recall which one. Too, the head covers were completely stopped up with deposits. And I was told the top carb float adjustment was out of wack by a mechanic who rebuilt the carbs prior to the rebuild. Yes, I rebuilt them again while rebuilding...........knew you'd be thinking that...............d Hope that sounds like a reasonable explaination of the demise of the engine. Thanks agian........................ALAN

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 140 rebuild sucessfull start but problem......?

On the muffs your engine will idle 1100-1200 normally. When you dunk it in the lake, the water backpressure will cause the rpm's to go down. Sounds very normal. Do you have your telltale hose routed upward to the top of the engine block, then back down to the nipple in the lower cowl?

 

[Theoutdoorsman]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 140 rebuild sucessfull start but problem......?

Yes. Why, might I ask?

 

[hookedonjc]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 140 rebuild sucessfull start but problem......?

yep thats the one I got . Just fish the sensor back to the engine and use some RTV to atach it to the block where you want it be sure to select water temp for read out. Only thing is the read out is not water proof so what I did was put some velcro on the back and on the console so I can move it in case of rain. I had heard that running without stats was bad. now I see why.


Dont Ever Give Up

 

[Theoutdoorsman]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 140 rebuild sucessfull start but problem......?

hookedonjc............. Just remember, I'm no expert on this by any stretch of imagination. If others feel like this explanation of destruction isn't too far fetched, I'd sure feel confident in that I found the problem and know I've fixed it. I've noticed the slight hiccup that I had prior to rebuilding, and it really scares me. After all, that's what prompted me to look for some help here on iboats to begin with. It's probably a carb float out of adjustment, but it could be where the engine just isn't up to it's normal temperature range. I don't know. I keep getting scared and shutting it down for fear it would overheat. I may need to take a look at the carbs again if it doesn't stop, once I get the temp guage installed and verify the temperature that is. Thanks for the tip. I'll go pick one up and see if I can find this timer base clip that I broke..............................ALAN

 

[KYHunter2]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 140 rebuild sucessfull start but problem......?

Sounds like you figured out , what caused your problem.

No thermo's , too cool running motor, can cause excessive coking , and lugging the motor due to misadjusted carbs can spell disaster.

Sorry I took so long to get back to you.

Been busy, a friend tore up his lower unit on a evinrude 25 .

Found out he's been reving up, and slamming into gear, because it would die other wise.

Had to replace clutch dog , and a broken fwd. gear .

Not sure how he broke the gear.

Did a tune up, and water pump , fine now.

Get this , found him used parts for free, except water pump , charged him $50.00 labor , and he blew a gasket.

Last repair , he'll get from me.

KYHunter

 

[Theoutdoorsman]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 140 rebuild sucessfull start but problem......?

Kyhunter2.............Is it possible to have a float adjustment way out of wack, which would cause permanent mechanical failure, and the motor still run like a top on top end? Just curious. Can you list some symptoms of misadjusted carbs along with some tests one can perform to insure things are correctly set up? Thanks.....................ALAN


hookedonjc............. I purchased one of the temp sensors you are speaking of. Made by Min Kota. Although the sensor only reads to 158 degrees, this will at least give me referrence point, until I can acquire a more permanent means of replacement. The RTV is setting up as I type. I'll return with the temp results momentarily. Kyhunter, does this sound normal that I can hold my hand on the port side head for an extended period of time, but for only 10-15 seconds on the starboard side?

 

[DJ]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 140 rebuild sucessfull start but problem......?

I can understand you being very cautious. You just put allot of work into that thing, not to mention $$$.

You won't cook the engine running it at idle. Ten seconds is a LONG time to be able to hold your hands on a head.

Usually, spark plugs will tell the story if you have a carb way out whack.

 

[Theoutdoorsman]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 140 rebuild sucessfull start but problem......?

Ok........then I'm going to go out right now and let this thing idle for approximately 5-10 minutes. I'll closely monitor the head temps and afterwards pull the plugs to have a look see. I'll post back with some results. Thanks.............ALAN

 

[Theoutdoorsman]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 140 rebuild sucessfull start but problem......?

Ok........... powerhead started just fine. I immediately began monitoring the temperature sensor mentioned earlier in this thread. To my surprise, the highest recordable temp reading I got on the very top of the starboard head, just under the flywheel edge, was 124*. Still hotter than the port side, but, it never got any hotter than this. I did not take a reading on the port side head, as it was only luke warm to the touch. I immediately pulled the spark plugs to post on their appearance. All four plugs appeared identicle.........semi clear and wet. It is still trying to cough occassionally. Anyone see a reason why I can't dunk this thing in the lake and finish the break-in period?

 

[DJ]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 140 rebuild sucessfull start but problem......?

I don't see any reason not to. It will behave somewhat differently, in the water.

Is your hot horn working? Make sure just in case.

Go out and enjoy, you've got some idling around to do.

 

[KYHunter2]

Re: 1979 Evinrude 140 rebuild sucessfull start but problem......?

I do an hour idle break in. Some do some dont. But during the first few hours , there will be times the motor may run strange. This will quit after some time on the powerhead. Be sure to run dbl. oil for the breakin period. I use the 10 hour breakin . Its worked great for me . after 3 and 10 hours retorque head bolts.

You will need to run the motor more then a few min. to see much from looking at plugs.

When burning correctly they should be a light tan color.

They can tend to foul faster from the dble. oil during breakin, but should still be realatively clean with the tan color.

What is the breakin procedure you intend to use?

There is the info. on the same basic breakin I use at the max rules site.

Except for the 1 hour idle portion, thats just the way I like to do it.

One other thing, you said run fine before breakdown. The motor may have seemed to be running great , when in fact it wasn't.

You may get a heck of a surprise after you get to run it , since rebuild.

Your breakdown was more likely due to carbon build up and running it too cool.

Which go hand in hand. Then a misadjusted float .

As long as you set the floats level or ever so slightly high , and level across the front.

Your good to go.

KYHunter

My e-mail is rgkhunter@yahoo .com

If you contact me Ill give you my phone # or Ill call you if long disance I have broadband phone service free to call anywhere US, and canada.