8 hp evinrude runs great in gear, but cuts out at idle?

santander · #1 January 28th, 2008, 10:06 PM

This motor is new to me its a 1997 8 hp evinrude, it has ran great since i bought it but i woke up today ( it was cold: 40 degrees) to start it up and go fishing and had some issues. I know it's something to so with the fuel system because it starts after a couple pulls and will run for around 10-20 seconds then would cut out at idle. One attempt it continued to run with no problem untill i hit the kill switch. This was all in my front yard as i was preparing my boat to go out, i do this because i run the motor completely out of gas when i'm not using it for a few days to keep the carbs from getting gunked up. So after i got it to run for a little bit a decieded to head to the ramp. Drop the boat in and start it up, does same thing runs for 20 seconds then cuts out at dock. I decide to put it in gear and off i go with no problems, as long as i was in gear and had slight rpm's the motor ran perfect. Once i slowed to idle it would cut out. It did this to me all day and i don't know what to think? It was really being a pain to start, what could it be? Bad gas line or primer bulb, clogged filter, clogged carb, or is it just acting tempremental because of weather?
thanks

HighTrim · #2 January 28th, 2008, 10:10 PM

Will pumping the primer bulb keep it running? How about spraying pre mixed fuel into the carbs?

santander · #3 January 28th, 2008, 10:27 PM

I pumped the primer bulb in the run tank and thats when it stayed running for a bit longer, should the bulb stay firm while the motor is running because mine felt like it would get firm when i pumped it to start the motor but once the motor was running it would only feel about a 1/4 to 1/2 full until i pumped it again
thanks for the quick response

tashasdaddy · #4 January 28th, 2008, 11:07 PM

once started the fuel pump pulls fuel, the bulb will not be hard. as you said 1/2 full. did you check your spark, could be running on one cylinder. could be crud in low speed jets. it's not the fuel pump, cause it will run at higher rpms. what does it do if you choke it?

santander · #5 January 29th, 2008, 12:04 AM

If i choke it it will cut out pretty quickly, possibly your on to something with the carb jet because i have noticed that the motor doesn't really have much pick up at all until i get to about 1/4-1/2 throttle and then it start screaming on plane like it should. Any other thoughts

JB · #6 January 29th, 2008, 12:04 AM

Are you runnning that engine out of the water, santander? VERY bad idea, even for just a few seconds. Your water pump will soon be toast if it isn't already.

santander · #7 January 29th, 2008, 12:52 AM

defiently not running out of water, i run it in a run tank and in the intercoastal.

tashasdaddy · #8 January 29th, 2008, 07:43 AM

check and make sure you have spark, on both cylinders, also check compression, if it is low, it can cause hard starts, and idle problems, then do the carb, the first to are cheap to do.

JUSTINTIME · #9 January 31st, 2008, 03:20 AM

sounds like fuel
and it is in the carbs and sync and link

Lodgepole · #10 January 31st, 2008, 02:20 PM

Should also keep Sta-Bil in the gas, eleminates a lot of carb problems.

santander · #11 February 1st, 2008, 01:10 PM

I run the motor out of gas and disconnect the tank almost everytime when it's going to sit for a few days so there really shouldn't be much gas to gum up the carb should there? I was told to do this but the guy i bought it from. I was messing with it today and it seems that if i push the choke in only about 75% instead of all the way in it will stay running in idle no problem. Is this a symptom of needing a carb cleaning?
thanks

tashasdaddy · #12 February 1st, 2008, 01:43 PM

yes, the choke shows you are getting a poor fuel mixture. or you have your idle speed set too low. the more is starving for fuel.

santander · #13 February 13th, 2008, 07:14 PM

The guy i bought the motor from gave me a warrenty with the motor so he is fixing the problem right now. He went through the carb and said there was nothing wrong with it. He said he was able to start the motor just by spinning the flywheel with his hand, i guess maybe my gas was just bad. He is replacing the impeller because it was shot, but he said because i used it with the bad impeller the head gasket was warped. The whole time i used it it was pumping water but a few times when it was in the run tank the motor intermittently would stop peeing for a couple seconds and then get hot. Is this enough to warp the gasket? Either way he is fixing it for free. Should i be worried about reliablilty after this is changed or should it be good as new. Outboards are so touchy and a pain to keep running.