1993 Evinrude 140hp HELP!

I have a 140 HP 1993 Model Evinrude V4 Ocean Pro...Took it out Sat...made a good 20 minute run on it ran slick as a whistle...then it started acting up. The motor will not "OPEN UP" when the gearshift is engaged. In neutral it revs and idles perfect. As soon as you put it in gear it Bogs down making a totally different motor noise and will not even get the boat on plane. Then back to neutral and rev...perfect. It starts cutting back the last time I took it out...I changed all 4 plugs and added Sea Foam...seemed to work like a brand new one after that for 20 minutes then rite back to the Sh!tter it went. Does anybody have any ideas? I don't want to take to a shop without half way knowing what is wrong...scared the high dollar labor charges will screw me. One guy told me maybe a coil went bad? I know there are 4 different coils on it as they are located right beside corresponding plugs. How can you tell if a coil is bad? Another buddy told me it was my fuel pump? Would the motor still idle and rev correct in neutral if the fuel pump is messed up? Anybody with experience or with similar issues in the past please chime in to help me. Possible things to check or anything I can do at home? As much as I fish I have to get OL PEARL runnin right again! Thanks to all!

Re: 1993 Evinrude 140hp HELP!

Do the basics first. Run a compression and a spark test on it. Get a spark tester at any parts house ($10.00) and it should jump a 7/16" open air gap.

Re: 1993 Evinrude 140hp HELP!

Sound like it could be electrical. Sometimes when the stator and or pack are going they only do it after getting warmed up. Wont do it on the hose. Mine did a similar thing and it was the stator. Check the CDI website. Great trouble shooting, but you need a DVA adapter for your multi meter to test. A regular meter will not help you. Post some pics. Look under the flywheel. Any ooze or melting near the timer base or stator is a sign it has crapped out and may only work while cold.

Re: 1993 Evinrude 140hp HELP!

Ok...I will do the compression check and spark test ASAP. What compression am I looking for on described motor? What variation between cylinders is acceptable? What is my compression is out of whack...Big Money Fix? Sorry so many questions! Thanks to all for helping me! I really want to get my boat running again!

Re: 1993 Evinrude 140hp HELP!

No more than 15 psi between cyl's. Do a compression test and get back to us.

Re: 1993 Evinrude 140hp HELP!

compression on my 1985, 140 was 125-121psi last time i checked...
guess i should check it again in the spring. how often should it be checked?

Re: 1993 Evinrude 140hp HELP!

Just remember compression gauges vary. I've got 5 gauges and I can put each one in the same cyl on the same engine and get 5 different readings. It's the difference in the readings between the cyl's that count.

Re: 1993 Evinrude 140hp HELP!

Your buddy who suggested fuel issues might be right, too... The fact that seafoam helped tends to lend support to that theory, in my opinion... Easy test; when it starts to bog down, does pumping the fuel bulb have any effect?

If so, could be anything in the system, from grit in the carbs to a collapsing fuel line, clogged filter or dodgy pump.

You could also not be running on all cylinders for either fuel or electrical reasons (which can manifest as good idling but poor running / loss of power). Easy test would be to pull & ground the plugs one at a time. Should result in a slower idle in each case; no change, or motor quitting completely would be the identifier.

-Duncan

Re: 1993 Evinrude 140hp HELP!

Plan on doing some troubleshooting on it this weekend. We did try squeezing the bulb while it was Bogging and it didn't do anything...however, one time while we were squeezing it, it hit for maybe a second and sounded right but then back to the BOG sound with the motor shaking almost vibrating side to side. I could stop and rev it in neutral for a little bit...let it idle back down...put it in gear, slam it up and it would sometimes sound like it was about to open up right...it just never did.

I'm sorry I cant describe everything real well...it has done this a few times in the past progressively getting worse to this point. (I thought it was just trash in the lines or carbs) In the past when it bogged...the neutral rev up USUALLY got it to open up when gearshift was engaged...sometimes having to do a neutral rev a couple of times. One day I limped around the lake bad on it because it was doing the same thing...before we left...I cut the bilge pump on for a few minutes to rid the boat of water before trailering it...when I took off going back to the ramp she jumped up on plane and ran like a scalded dog all the way back to the ramp. I don't know if this was just coincidence or not but I wanted to include that in case it made any of your "light bulbs" shine...Thanks To everybody! I will let you know how my checks went Monday!

Re: 1993 Evinrude 140hp HELP!

Who wants to bet? Five bucks says fuel delivery; junk in the carb or lines, etc... Keep at 'er!

Re: 1993 Evinrude 140hp HELP!

Good Luck... for what it's worth I may have to agree w/the fuel issue. I would pull the carbs and rebuild if this hasnt been done in a while. With all of the fuel issues today it could be the source and an easy fix. My second guess would be the coils and/or power packs. I just went through all of this with my '81 E 90. Runs perfect now (I'm knocking on wood!!). Rebuild kits are inexspensive for the carbs and relatively easy to do. Also make sure that the fuel hose is attached properly and securely. I replaced mine as it "appeared" loose, and to mu surprise the engine ran 100% better (this was another issue w/old fuel lines). I hope this helpful and the issues are resolved. Keep us posted!

Re: 1993 Evinrude 140hp HELP!

I also agree...fuel issue. First check fuel pump screen. if it is clean, then maybe fuel pump needs rebuild/replace....I try this before touch carbs...