new to iboats been reading post for weeks

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rookieboat88

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I currently own a 14' starcraft with a 18 hp evinrude fastwin. I bought this boat 3 weeks ago and have no power. I did a compression check a couple weeks ago and got 58 psi in 1 cylinder and 60 in the other. pulled the head today to check the pistons and cylinder walls. is there anything I can do short of a ring job to bring compression up
 
Raystownboater

Raystownboater

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Re: new to iboats been reading post for weeks

Before pulling the head, you could have squirted some oil into the cylinders to see if the compression came up. That should give you an indication of whether a ring job would fix the issue. Starcraft has a HUGE following here so I'm sure the guys will be checking in for the answers you need. Welcome to iboats!
 
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rookieboat88

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Re: new to iboats been reading post for weeks

yes also did a wet compression check squirted some 2 cycle oil into the cylinder and rechecked and got same result thanks for the reply
 
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sschefer

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Re: new to iboats been reading post for weeks

Warm it up good and then do your compression test, that will give you the truth. Check the manual to see how far off your current readings are from stock. If they're more than 20% off then just rebuild it. That little motor won't take more than a few evenings to go through from top to bottom.
 
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rookieboat88

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Re: new to iboats been reading post for weeks

going to replace the head gasket the off to the lake and will check the compression after I pull the boat out of the water.
thanks for the responces
 
JB

JB

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Re: new to iboats been reading post for weeks

Geeze!! When will people get the idea that good rope start outboards often test, at best, 60-80psi.

There was nothing wrong with your compression. No telling how much damage you may have caused by trying to fix what ain't broke. :(
 
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rookieboat88

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Re: new to iboats been reading post for weeks

damage? at best a new head gasket dont see that going to do any damage. been reading post on iboats for 3 weeks before joining and a lot of the posts I read said best is 100 psi compression spoke to a mechanic and got same responce that the compression should be 80 to 100 psi. My motor is a electric/pull cord start.
 
JB

JB

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Re: new to iboats been reading post for weeks

There are too many variables to state that an outboard should test at 100psi. Different gauges, conditions and techniques can cause the readings to vary as much as 50psi.

The main thing is the degree of match among the cylinders tested. 15% is usually adequate, better than 10% is fine.

Sorry to be so abrupt. I get sooooo tired of outboard hypochondria that results in so much stuff that ain't broke getting "fixed". The reason makers either waffle about psi or simply won't publish a spec is that they know that perfectly good engines can test 60-60.
 
lindy46

lindy46

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Re: new to iboats been reading post for weeks

Yeah, if compression is even across cylinders, that is the main thing. If even and somewhat low, I'll try other methods to bring it up before pulling the head. I've had small motors with even 45psi compression which ran fine after a good soaking and decarb.
 
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