motor issues

i have an 87 175 evinrude ran great prior to last use strarted at the ramp a little rough thought nothing of it let the motor warm up put in into gear idoled for a little the gave it gas and seems to be running very rough like a miss revs up out of gear but not in gear new plugs new main fuel filter still looking for the rite inline filter im going to drain my tank this weekend had a few people recommend seafoam this is my first big motor very lost any help is very helfull runs great with hose hooked up and out of gear but thats it.....:facepalm:

Re: motor issues

get a spark gap tester..check each plug wire..should have 7/16 gap and hot blue streak., check engine compression, then check all fuel lines and connections, if they suck air anywhere it can hurt engine performance. do a good carb cleaning/rebuild as listed in the secret files top of this forum.

Re: motor issues

Classic sign of a gunked up carb. Did you use Sta-bil before putting it away for awhile? How long was it sitting?

Re: motor issues

It is too easy to fry a piston because of dirty carbs.

Many owners regularly do a 'Spring carb cleaning' just to be sure that doesn't happen.

Some just pull the bowl drain plugs, stick the snout of the carb cleaner into the jet and give it a health shot then pump the primer and flush the bowl out with fuel.

Either method is recommended when the last time out indicated a potential problem.

I vote for a thorough cleaning.

Re: motor issues

i had just bought the boat in november i have taken it out atleast ten times since. ima check all lines clean carbs and check for spark in all cylders. sumbody recomended seafoam is this nessacery??

Re: motor issues

i just pulled the plugs to do a compression test and two of the six had a milky substance on it ''water'' im going to drain tank complently start with new fuel and see. did notice a little water leaking on the very top of motor by the thermo switch. seems to me a can o worms has ben opened .

Re: motor issues

Water in the cylinders? Remove the cylinder heads in order to thoroughly inspect the head gaskets, sealing surfaces of the heads and block, and the pistons & cylinder walls.

DO NOT let the engine sit while looking elsewhere as the rust sequence will start immediately. Clean out the cylinders, check carburetors for water in the fuel, then crank the engine over to blow out the crankcase. Hopefully your problem is simply a blown head gasket.

Re: motor issues

do you know of any links that has a break down i cant find a owners manual for the engine

Re: motor issues

You can look at factory exploded parts lists on the web at: epc.brp.com. Original factory service manuals are still available from Ken Cook Co., in Milwaukee-the original publisher. If you have some cyls ok, and others with water signs-it is probably not the fuel in the tank. You can get water in specfic cyls from two places: 1. leaking head gaskets. 2. Exhaust leaks. Exhaust leaks tend to affect the lower cylinders, whereas head gaskets can leak on any cyl. Repairing/replacing leaky head gaskets is pretty straight forward. Pulling the exhaust covers on this engine is another matter. Technically, you need to pull the engine to reinstall the exhaust covers-flat with the crankcase bottom. If you get into pulling the exhaust covers, check the inner for holes in the casting-due to porosity. A great engine, by the way.

Re: motor issues

its the top two plugs that had water tomaro i will start the tear down and will report will results thank you forthe advise everybody

Re: motor issues

do post # 7 hopefully just a bad head gasket

Re: motor issues

heads are off the head gasket had five diffrent spots were i could see through it on the bad side with water the outher side was better with olny two bad spots . gasket are bein orderd today ...

Re: motor issues

Torque the head bolts with the new gasket and retorque after a few hours of running.

BTW, Sea Foam is for decarbonizing. It won't do anything for dirty carbs. In fact, the only way to really clean carbs is complete dis-assembly, and soaking in carb cleaner overnight, then blowing dry with compressed air.

You can get parts list, owner's manual and shop manual from outboardbooks.com. The shop manual may also be found on fleabay for less $'s.

Re: motor issues

Sounds like a nice, easy solution to your problem. Good luck.

Re: motor issues

Make sure that the sealing surfaces of the heads and block are as they should be, clean and with no defects. Also, I believe that the 87 175hp model has water deflectors installed in the water passages..... if so, if they are swelled so as to interfere with the water flow, replace them.

Head bolt torque is 18 to 20 foot pounds, to be tightened in the following sequence.

13..14
9....10
5.....6
1.....2
4.....3
8.....7
12..11

(Water Deflectors)
(J. Reeves)

Water deflectors are actually lengths of 3/8" outside diameter rubber hose, installed between the top cylinder and any cylinder beneath it, and also between the bottom cylinder and the block. The purpose of the deflectors is to have the water follow a definite path around the cylinder walls. Unfortunately the deflectors between the cylinders will at times swell sideways due to either a previous bad overheating problem, or simply due to age and salt corrosion. This causes a water flow restriction which usually allows the water to cool sufficently at low rpms but not at the higher rpms.

This hose material can be purchased reasonably at any automotive parts type store if you care to make your own, or you can purchase individual deflectors at any Evinrude/Johnson dealership at a somewhat higher cost.

Removing and installing them can be a hassle at times, but not always. I use a sharply pointed scribe with about 1/4" of the tip bent at a right angle whereas I can reach in, jab the tip sideways into the rubber, then yank it out. It's necessary to clean the seating surfaces where the ruber contacts the block with a small rat tail file to eliminate salt deposits etc. When installing the new rubber deflector, coat the deflector and the metal surfaces with WD40 which will act as lubrication to allow it to go in as easily as possible.

Make sure that you insert something into that deflector area before cutting and installing the deflectors if you make your own so that you will be certain that they are the right length and also that they will be seated properly. Usually a very small amount will be left extending about the block sealing area..... simply cut the excess off with a single edge razor blade.