2001 15hp 4-stroke Evinrude --- Inaccessible Carburetor Bolt

[bigdeuce200]

I am trying to tighten the inside nut where the carburetor bolts to the intake. I have managed to get the carb snug to the gasket, but slightly bent the thottle assembley on the carb in the process. Is there a better way? I was thinking, a stubby wrench and the flywheel taken off. I don't want to buy a special wrench + flywheel puller unless it will work. Does anyone know?

Thank-you,
impoverished in Canada

[sutor623]

Pics man? Flywheel puller is only like $15 and well worth having. You can even 'borrow' them from advanced auto with a $20 deposit. P.S. I had to remove pretty much all of the engine components to access my carbs in my merc 650. Just part of the game man.

[boobie]

That's why I always loved Mercs. LOL

[bigdeuce200]

Pics man? Flywheel puller is only like $15 and well worth having. You can even 'borrow' them from advanced auto with a $20 deposit. P.S. I had to remove pretty much all of the engine components to access my carbs in my merc 650. Just part of the game man.

Thank you for your response. I have been reading these forums, and I think I will be here often. In the future, I will put pictures with my questions.

I agree that I should buy the flywheel puller and stubby wrench, rather than risk more damage to the throttle assembly on the carburetor. At first I was hesitant, because of money problems, to spend $$. However, after reading these forums, I realize that buying proper tools is the only way to do things. I simply must wait until I can afford the proper tool.

I am amazed at the amount of knowledge on these forums. As I have A LOT of time, and very little $$, I believe small investments in tools is a smart idea. I've learned so much already, and had allot of fun working on my motor. It's looking like this is going to be a hobby for the next little while.

Again, thanks for the response. Now I have a question about my fuel pump, but I'll wait until I get the adapter for the phone (camera).

Barkley Sound

[sutor623]

You can ask ?'s about the fuel pump without pics. Some answers are easier than others. And yes this forum quickly became my #1 goto web place. There are a TON of long-time marine mechanics and hobbyists here. Most people are just as willing to give info as they are to get it. One thing that I have learned, is sometimes trying to shortcut and save a few minutes will cost you BIG time in the end. Especially with the older motors that I am more fond of working with, because parts can become elusive.

[bigdeuce200]

I had water/dirt in the fuel system and took apart the fuel pump to make sure it was empty of debris. When I opened the fuel pump, there were two pieces of metal (a spring and "washer") laying loose. I suspected there was a piece missing, so I intended to post a picture to verify that. I brought it to PY Marine, in Port Alberni, BC. Peter Yuen told me that indeed there was a piece missing.

This explains why my motor stopped when I opened the throttle, I believe. The broken fuel pump provided enough fuel to the carburetor for idle, but quickly emptied the carburetor bowl at open throttle. I had taken the carburetor apart and cleaned it, believing it was gunked up from sitting in a basement. The fuel pump should arrive tomorrow afternoon.

So now, I will have a new fuel pump, very clean gasoline, new oil + filter, new spark plugs, and clean carburetor. I tested compression at 160 and 166. So now, hopefully this motor will be worth the $1200 I paid for it.

I will the results early next week.

Thanks,
Barkley Sound --- 2001 Evinrude 15hp Four Stroke

[bigdeuce200]

Forgot to mention... I went and bought a flywheel puller and stubby 10mm wrench. I will post pics, on the carburetor bolt access, if I can.

[sutor623]

Cool man, glad to hear you figured it out. Make sure that there are hardened steel bolts that A) are long enough and B) have the proper thread size before you are ready to do the job. EVERY time I sit down with a different motor and go to pull the flywheel, I either do not have the right size thread, or the bolts are too short to get the puller down. Just make sure you got em or your day of work will be interrupted with a trip to the hardware store.
Do you have an air compressor? If you do not, it is hard to hold the flywheel/main crank steady while trying to get off the flywheel nut, and then again when trying to pop off the flywheel with the puller . If you do not have a compressor, you can TRY it with someone else holding a very large strap wrench around the flywheel. Just letting you know what road blocks you may be in for.

[bigdeuce200]

2001 Evinrude 15hp Four Stroke:

The below image shows the inside bolt, from the carburetor to the intake, with a YELLOW arrow. The RED arrow shows where I have slightly bent the throttle assembly on the carburetor, by trying to squeeze a wrench under the flywheel.

2001 Evinrude 15hp - carburetor A.jpg

I have not been able to properly tighten the nut from the carb to the intake. The only decent idea I came up with was to remove the flywheel and hope a stubby wrench will reach the nut. More about this below...


Barkley Sound

[bigdeuce200]

2001 Evinrude 15hp Four Stroke:

Thank you sutor623... You were right. I didn't have the right size bolts for the flywheel puller. I tried M8 and 5/16-18. Both bolts fit the flywheel hole diameter, but neither had the right thread count. I will try to locate some 5/16-24 bolts tomorrow.

Regarding your advice about the flywheel nut... I do not have an impact wrench, strap (that would fit), or a helper. I improvised the solution below.

2001 Evinrude 15hp - flywheel A.jpg

The YELLOW arrows point to a shoe-string. One end of the shoe-string is attached to the lift bracket, the other end to a notch in the flywheel's outer edge. As i wrenched the flywheel nut, the shoe-string stopped the flywheel from turning, and the nut easily popped free.

Can I (or DID I) damage anything by using this method?

Thank You,
Barkley Sound.

[sutor623]

Can I (or DID I) damage anything by using this method?

No that should be fine. Great improvising there, Im glad it worked for you.

[AlTn]

don't know the size of that carb nut, but I've used an old ignition wrench on some....don't know if they even produce those wrenches anymore...plastic pouch, super thin, some were down in the 32ths size wise...looks like removing the flywheel was your best option

[bigdeuce200]

2001 Evinrude 15hp 4-stroke:

Success!

First: I found 3 bolts that fit the threaded holes in the flywheel. The bolts are 5/16" diameter shank and labelled "fine thread", which i take to mean 5/16 and 24 threads per inch, because 18 threads per inch didn't work. Alas, when i got home, i found that the bolts were of different length. I made a pencil mark at the required depth on the SHORTEST bolt, then measured and marked the other two bolts to match. Then I wrapped tape around the mark on each bolt. Here is a picture:
2001 Evinrude 15hp - flywheel bolts A.jpg

I threaded each bolt into the flywheel until the tape bottomed:
2001 Evinrude 15hp - flywheel puller.JPG
Once seated, I turned the flywheel puller's center bolt a 1/4 turn, then tapped on it with a hammer. repeated 3 times and the flywheel easily popped off.

----
Second: Once the flywheel was off, I STILL could not properly loosen/tighten the nut which fastens the carburetor to the intake, without damaging the throttle assembly. The SOLUTION was this:
2001 Evinrude 15hp - inner carburetor nut - throttle up A.jpg
To access the inner nut, fastening the carburetor to the intake, remove the flywheel AND open the throttle assembly on the carburetor to the UP position!@

A very sincere thank you to everyone on these forums - and especially those responding to this thread.
Full credit goes to those people, whose tips I have read elsewhere on these forums, and copied here.

I will post a new thread, summarizing my experience with this motor, later this week.

Barkley Sound

[boobie]

Could you not have just taken the intake manifold off along with the carb, did your carb work, and put the assy back on ?? Just asking.

[sutor623]

Deuce, I can tell you are going to be a great mentor on here when you get some more experience. You are very thorough, and take the time to take photos.

[bigdeuce200]

Could you not have just taken the intake manifold off along with the carb, did your carb work, and put the assy back on ?? Just asking.

Yes, I could have taken the intake manifold off. But as I am very novice, I wasn't entirely sure of my ability, tools, or materials to do the job. I thought it was easy to pop the flywheel off, and it was, once I purchased the correct bolts. I started this thread with no ability to buy anything, but I got a windfall, and purchased a flywheel puller, bolts, and fuel pump. The carburetor is very clean and re-assembled with time + care. I will attempt to fire it up tomorrow morning.

Barkley Sound

[bigdeuce200]

Deuce, I can tell you are going to be a great mentor on here when you get some more experience. You are very thorough, and take the time to take photos.

Thank you... I have another question, about the spark plug wires to the coil. I am going to ask in a new thread. Hoping for an answer before tomorrow morning (pacific time).

Barkley Sound

[boobie]

For your future reference, there are only 3 bolts that hold the intake manifold on and you wouldn't have had to pull the flywheel.

[bigdeuce200]

awesome, boobie! I was mostly worried about damaging/replacing a gasket. I will definitely give it a shot, next time. It will be great to learn something new.

Thanks again,
barkley sound