1959 Evinrude 18hp Fastwin tune up

Hi all,
Hopefully you guys can help me. I just replaced the points and the impellar in my fastwin. I think that the shift linkage may not have gone all the way into the place where it seats. Is there a trick to getting this in place? The motor runs fine when it is in what should be forward but is actually in neutral as long as it is throttled up a little, it will not idle at all. I think i may need to do a carb rebuild on this motor as well, how hard is this? I tried to take this motor to a repair shop but he told me that there is no guarantee that he can fix anything because it is so old that other things may go wrong in the process so I am stuck trying to figure this thing out myself. I am sorry for the scattered subjects. Any help you can give is very much appreciated.

Thank you

Re: 1959 Evinrude 18hp Fastwin tune up

The shift linkage only goes together one way...the notch on the end of the shift shaft must be exactly aligned with the hole in the linkage connector...otherwise the bolt will strip threads. Use a flashlight to make sure the alignment is right. Your motor has a throttle/speed limiter so you can't run the throttle up too high in Neutral. Did you set the points to .020? If it won't idle, you need to clean the carb and reset the high and low-speed needles. Check the Top Secret File at the top of this forum.

Re: 1959 Evinrude 18hp Fastwin tune up

There's not much money in fixing those old motors! .....But they sure are easy to fix!

I'll give it a shot:

1st: the shift rod has a groove in the top of it that should match up with the hole in the shift rod connector that can be seen through the window of the midsection. I think you probably have that right, but have the shifter misadjusted----but check it just to be sure. There are a couple of bolts that will allow you adjust the shifter which should allow you to move it and fix your problem.

2nd: You need to get a spark tester and make certain that you have a spark that will jump at least a 1/4" air gap. Pic of the autozone $6 tester below. After you've achieved good spark, then clean and adjust your carb. There's instructions for carb. adjustments in the "top secret files" at the top of this forum by Joe Reeves. BTW, if the coils looked cruddy in any way when you changed the points, there's a good chance one of them is bad. Maybe even if they didn't look cruddy. Condensers are fairly inexpensive as well.

Later,
JBJ

Re: 1959 Evinrude 18hp Fastwin tune up

christforlife said:

I think i may need to do a carb rebuild on this motor as well, how hard is this? I tried to take this motor to a repair shop but he told me that there is no guarantee that he can fix anything because it is so old that other things may go wrong in the process so I am stuck trying to figure this thing out myself.
Thank you

Click to expand...

Obviously the repair guy knows nothing about old motors and has no desire to work on them. Carb rebuild is an easy job and you can tackle it yourself. Kit (with float) should be about $25. Just follow the instructions in the "top secret file" You've already had the flywheel off if you replaced the points, so coils would be no problem for you. And you know how to remove the lower unit. Those are the three major components which need attention on these older motors. Get a service manual for it and you won't need a repair shop BTW, agree with jbjennings and tmcalavy on the shift rod/shifter adjustment. Make sure you have that right.

Re: 1959 Evinrude 18hp Fastwin tune up

First of all thank you for all of the quick responses, this site is so awesome!! I should probably say that the repair guy was very willing to work on the motor and he comes highly recommended from a lot of people here in town. He was just very honest in telling me that once he gets into it it may cost more money than I wanted to spend so I must commend him for not soaking me. I am finding out that this is a pretty easy motor to work on, I am fairly mechanically inclined but this is new territory for me. I also figured out that there is a water tube to line up in the lower unit that did not line up so I have to take it all apart again anyway. The shift linkage didn't seem to want to go in very easily that is why i thought that it might be not quite lined up but the nut holding it did turn back in with little resistance so I thought I was all good. the coils looked great so I am not very concerned about that but I will try the test once I get things squared away. I am a little apprehensive about carb work with all of those little parts in there but I am going to try it anyway. Again thank you very much for all of the response I received, it's good to know that there are good guys out there that are willing to give good advise when it is needed by some less than experienced guys.
God bless all

Re: 1959 Evinrude 18hp Fastwin tune up

(Carburetor Adjustments - Two Adjustable N/Vs)
(J. Reeves)

Initial settings are: Bottom high speed = seat gently, then open 1 turn out. Top slow speed = seat gently, then open 1-1/2 turns.

Setting the high and low needle valves properly:

NOTE: For engines that DO NOT have a shift selection, obviously there is no NEUTRAL position. Simply lower the rpms to the lowest setting to obtain the low speed needle valve adjustment.

(High Speed) Start engine (it will run pretty rough), shift into forward gear, take up to full throttle. In segments of 1/8 turn, waiting for the engine to respond between turns, start turning in the bottom high speed needle valve. You'll reach a point whereas the engine will either start to die out or spit back (sounds like a mild backfire). At that point, back out the needle valve 1/4 turn. Within that 1/4 turn, you'll find the smoothest setting.

(Low Speed) Slow the engine down to where it just stays running. Shift into neutral. Again in segments of 1/8 turns, start to turn the top needle valve in. Wait a few seconds for the engine to respond. As you turn the valve in, the rpms will increase. Lower the rpms again to where the engine will just stay running. Eventually you'll hit the point where the engine wants to die out or it will spit back. Again, at that point, back out the valve 1/4 turn. Within that 1/4 turn, you'll find the smoothest slow speed setting.

When you have finished the above adjustments, you will have no reason to move them again unless the carburetor fouls/gums up from sitting, in which case you would be required to remove, clean, and rebuild the carburetor anyway.

Re: 1959 Evinrude 18hp Fastwin tune up

Hi again,
Thank you Joe for the carb settings. Now I finally got the shift linkage put back together and the water tube lined up right and it is still not ejecting water from the hole. Like I said in the earlier post I replaced the impellar but I didn't notice any kind of a key on the shaft to turn the impellar. It has a slot and I did notice a very small button like piece on the bottom of the shaft. Is that what turns it? Another question I had was regarding the impellar, Is there a backwards? I was pretty sure that I put it in the same way the old one came out but now I am second guessing myself. One more question about the shift linkage, the notch is supposed to be where the bolt comes through right? Like I said I had problems getting it in so I did a lot of monkeying with it to get it to go in. I will check into the manual thing, does it show all of the parts to the carb? That is very foreign territory for me, any time I have messed with any other carb on a vehicle or mower I seem to loose parts or bend them or something.

Thank you again for all of your help.
God bless all

Re: 1959 Evinrude 18hp Fastwin tune up

Yep, the groove in the shift shaft aligns with the hole in the connector/joiner...the bolt has to have perfect clearance or it won't thread into the far side of the connector. If the bolt threads strip out, you can use a tap/die to clean the connector threads and use another bolt. The impeller will right itself after you put the top cover of the pump down over it. The shaft is drilled for a little keeper pin that engages the impeller, the end of the round pin catches the impeller to key it to the shaft...make sure your water tube connects in both grommets, top and bottom, when you put the LU back on...it's easy to miss the bottom grommet the first few times. The carbs look complicated, but aren't...if you built model stuff as a kid, you can handle it...just work on a clean surface and take it apart logically.

Re: 1959 Evinrude 18hp Fastwin tune up

Hi again,
once again thank you for the reply. I think I will try to just clean the carbs up first. I had a weed eater that wouldn't run and my step dad told me to take off the carb and soak it in some gas and low and behold when i put everything back together it ran great. I did check though locally for a carb rebuild kit that I have seen talked about on here and they told me there is no such thing that I would have to buy everything separately. I am sure there is something that I can find online. I also think I have to pull the head off to check for blockage in the water ports sense there is no water flow. Boy this is taking much more work than originally thought, tomorrow is my last day of vacation and i am no where near getting all of these things done. Well thank you again for all of your help God bless all.

Re: 1959 Evinrude 18hp Fastwin tune up

Now I think I've done it. I decided to wait on the carb for a little bit until I get the water pumping first. I was told by a local boat repair guy that sense I already replaced the impellar and it was still not pumping water that they would take off the head and see if there was anything plugging up the water ports. Well that is what I did tonight. I started things off by breaking off five of the bolts. I also see that all of the water ports, while somewhat built up it was clear and didn't seem plugged up at all. Does anyone have any suggestions? Is this motor even worth the time? I now see what the other repair guy was talking about, I am sure I would have been taking out a second mortgage by now to pay for someone else to fix it. Thank you in advance for any help you can give. God bless all

Re: 1959 Evinrude 18hp Fastwin tune up

That is not good. I think that on these old motors, you should not touch the head bolts unless you absolutely have to. Anyway, too late now. Lets see if we can fix it. First, tell me about the bolts you broke. Are they flush with the block, or are they sticking out a bit? If they are sticking out, how much?

Now, instead of taking the head off, here is what you could have done. Connect a hose to the water tube that goes up to the powerhead. Hook that to you garden hose using whatever connections that are needed. Turn on the water and see if it goes all the way through. Now, you obviously would need the lower unit off to do this.

Don't give up yet. You may still be able to fix it.

Re: 1959 Evinrude 18hp Fastwin tune up

If you don't have enough bolt sticking out of the block to weld a nut on it or get a pair of channel locks on it, take a grinder and get the top of the bolt flat with a grinder and take a center punch and really take your time punching it perfectly centered. Then drill out the bolt, preferably with a left-handed drill bit. Start with a small bit and step up. When you get it all out, chase it with a tap. If you have enough sticking out to get some channel locks on it, I'd heat it up with a propane torch and let it cool. Try to just get it to move back and forth. If you can weld it, I hear that will really break up the corrosion around the bolt very good.
----5 sheared bolts is a lot to get lucky on, but doable. If there's more than one that's broken off in the hole and sheared off at an angle, then it's machine shop time or a parts motor.
I sure wish you would have asked before taking that head off. We could have told you about the pitfalls and alternatives as was mentioned above and probably have kept you from breaking off most of those bolts if you did wind up taking it off. I'm like the fellow above----I don't take the head off unless I have to!:redface:
Seems like everyone is eager for YOU to take the head off----they just never are eager for THEMSELVES to take one off----hence the "I won't work on that old motor stuff".
Good luck,
JBJ
BTW, if you do manage to get it fixed, don't reuse any of the old head bolts if you intend on getting them out again.

Re: 1959 Evinrude 18hp Fastwin tune up

And don't use an EZ-out on those broken bolts. Drill them out as JBJ suggests, or simply pull the powerhead and have a machine shop remove them...that shouldn't be too spendy.

Re: 1959 Evinrude 18hp Fastwin tune up

hi all,
yes I should have asked on here,I'm still learning about this site.:redface: All of the bolts that are broken are sticking out, Two of them are most of the bolt, the rest are about a 1/4 inch out. I soaked them with PB blaster overnight and tried to get them with my vice grips but my vice grips cant get enough bite and keep slipping. I soaked them again and was going to use and EZ out but tm calavy says not to. Why? I have used EZ outs with much success in the past, will they not work on this for some reason? As far as Fix It says the last thing I want to do is take off the lower unit again after the fiasco I went through the first time, but on the other hand you guys are the experts not me. If I have to I guess I will but I really don't want to go through all of that again. Well again Thank you all for all of the help you have given me these last couple of weeks and I will try to contact you guys BEFORE I try anything else. God Bless all.

Re: 1959 Evinrude 18hp Fastwin tune up

I regularly have to remove bolts that are broken off in steel parts. Haven't done too many in aluminum. I agree, do not use and easy out. It will probably not work, and if you break it off in the hole, you are done. It is hardened and it is impossible to drill it out. If the bolt is sticking out, you can try to turn it with a vise grip or a pipe wrench. If that doesn't work, take a nut that is barely large enough to go over the bolt (or better yet one that will thread on if there are any threads available) and weld it to the bolt. Weld it on good, but do not mess up the outside of the nut. You will need to get a wrench on it. After you weld it, while it is still hot, tap it several times with a hammer. As it cools down enough to not burn some oil, soak it with oil and the heat will draw the oil in hopefully. Let it cool completely and tap is a few more times. Then gently try to turn it. Try to loosen it a little. Try to tighten it a little. Back and forth until it unscrews.

If it is broken off flush, you can try to weld a nut one size smaller to the top of the bolt. This is tricky and you'd better have some experience welding. Otherwise, center puch it very carefully and drill it. Do not break the drill bit in the hole. The reason is the same as for the easy-out. It can't be removed. Make certain that you drill in the center of the bolt. Make certain that you drill straight into the bolt, not at an angle. Start with a small bit, and increase one size at a time until you get to the propper size to tap the hole. The tap will remove the rest of the bolt. If the threads are ruined, you can try a heli-coil.

Just be patient. Go slow. Do not rush. This can be a difficult and tedious task.

Re: 1959 Evinrude 18hp Fastwin tune up

Another hint is to use a rotary tool (Dremel) to make some flat areas on opposite sides of the bolt to give the vice grips something to hold on to. They don't do to well gripping a round surface. Heat (propane or MAPP) followed by penetrating oil helps.

Yet another hint is, if you end up drilling out a bolt, do use a center punch as advised, but also put the head back on temporarily to use as a guide to drill straight. I put tape around the upper shank of the bit to act a kind of a bushing to guide the bit straighter. It's really harder than you think to drill a straight hole with a hand drill. Cobalt bits (or better) are a must for this type of work.

Re: 1959 Evinrude 18hp Fastwin tune up

Wow!! Great ideas all, I will try to do all of these things when I have time. I know I said it in an earlier post but it is so awesome to have a place you can go that you can get info without having to pay someone an arm and a leg to do things. Thank you again and God bless all.