1991 Evinrude 115 Intermittant Power Loss

I bought a boat 3 weeks ago. Owner seemed like a decent guy, nice family, etc. Swears he had no problems with the engine..etc. Whether or not he's being truthful, I'll prob never know but he seemed generally trustworthy.

I took the boat out two weeks ago and ran it for a good while..ran and planed out great, lots of power etc. Worked fine, but only ran it for 45 minutes or so.

Took it out again this weekend and ran it for 10 minutes or so. I stopped for awhile, and when I fired it up to take off again, I noticed it just lugging. Like 2 cylinders were just not working...it was doggy like this for about 5 seconds, then it jerked a few times..running good, back to doggy, then ran good and took off like normal again. This happened intermittantly for the next 20 minutes or so, so I loaded it back on the trailer and took it to a marine mechanic to have it checked.

Calls me yesterday and says I need a complete engine overhaul. I about flipped over in my chair. I asked him how he came to that conlucion and so on, and he went into how it has leakdown on one cylinder and so on. I asked what the compression test was, and I believe he said the highest was 115, and the lowest cylinder was 109 but it had leakdown.

I told him to not do anything else to it and I'm goig to pick it up tonight, but looking for opinions on what it could be?
I'm no marine mechanic by any stretch of the imagination, but to me it almost seems like an ignition or fuel related issue. It will go from running full wide open, and just immediately act as though you turned the fuel off to a couple cylinders.

Whenever it goes from this doggy state to running perfect, it's an immediate change..it's not a slow rev up or rev down, but immediate and when it's running good, it has A LOT of power.

Can anyone help me pinpoint what condition I might be seeing? I simply thought I might have a carb issue or powerpack issue, but either way I'm getting a second opinion on it. I was thinking of just taking the carbs in to a reputable mechanic and having them gone through, but looking for some advice from the experts on here to see what you think before I waste money on the wrong issue.

The motor is a 1991 Evinrude 115 HP ( Model E115TLEIE )

Thanks

Re: 1991 Evinrude 115 Intermittant Power Loss

Leak down tests work good on 4 strokes but not 2 strokes. I know as I have a tester. Sounds to me like you have an ignition miss. If you could pull a plug wire off one at a time when the prob occurs you may narrow it down. Check the ignition system before getting into the carbs.

Re: 1991 Evinrude 115 Intermittant Power Loss

New mechanic time. I know this doesn't give you any immediate help on your problem.
But....new mechanic time.

Re: 1991 Evinrude 115 Intermittant Power Loss

Update - After picking up the boat tonight, I took it to a guy that has a reputation for quality engine work. He only works on cars, but he said bring it out we'll check the compression. I stopped in and we ran the compression test on all 4 cylinders, and they all were pretty much dead on 120 psi almost immediately after turning the motor over.

Thanks for the advice so far - definitely finding another person to look at it.

Re: 1991 Evinrude 115 Intermittant Power Loss

The compression on that engine is fine. It's likely that you have a weak ignition component on the engine-causing loss of spark. While generally very reliable, it is possible to suffer an intermittent ignition problem which will require that the component be replaced. Weak ignition components tend to fail when they heat up to normal operating temps. Hard to diagnose when the engine is cold or is running on cooler household water. Take an inductive timing light out with you next time you go boating. When the engine is not running well, put the timing light lead on each of the 4 plugwires. The flashes from the gun will show misfires, intermittents, etc. Usually the 4 coils are pretty reliable. The engine has 3 other expensive ignition components, the stator, timer base and the power pack.

Re: 1991 Evinrude 115 Intermittant Power Loss

I'm having the same problem myself, i believe if it was the stator it would not start period.... POWERPACK i am about to replace it just ordered a new one for my 1991 175 6 cylinder evinrude outboard as for that mechanic he's fuel of OIL!!!!! if you know what i Mean.
my boat starts and runs great i stop to drift for awhile or just hang out and turn the key it starts and when i shift it into gear it dies, does this 2 more times and then acts normal and takes off " Reminds Me Of The Wife" LMAO.... anyway i just ordered the pack after speaking to a outboard mechanic which i trust 100% and i will let you know how i make out Good Luck Pat

Re: 1991 Evinrude 115 Intermittant Power Loss

Yeah let me know how it goes Pat.

I took a close look at the motor today. Had some leaky fittings on the VRO pump, so I un-hooked them all. I also removed both carbs and cleaned them good, and put carb kits in both of them. They looked pretty good, and the inline fuel filter also looked fine, but I put a new filter on anyway. Added a few ounces of sea foam to the gas, and put new connectors on all of the leakiy hoses on the VRO. Put the muffs on and idled it in the driveway for about 5 minutes and it seemed to purr pretty good, but won't give it a real test until tomorrow when I take it to the lake for a warm run.

I'm guessing with as clean as the carbs and fuel system looked that I'm looking at an electrical issue like the others stated earlier in this post. Since the boat is new to me, I wanted to go through it some and see where everything is at.

I'll post again tomorrow after the lake run.

Re: 1991 Evinrude 115 Intermittant Power Loss

Well ran it today pretty hard for 30 minutes or so, and it ran great. Not sure if I found the problem by cleaning carbs and fixing the leaking VRO hoses, or if the problem just didn't surface today. I'll be on the water with it all day next Saturday, so I'll give it the full days run then.

Re: 1991 Evinrude 115 Intermittant Power Loss

Exact same problem here with my 115 Evinrude. Right off the trailer the motor has all the power in the world and can easily hit 35 MPH but soon enough it sputters in and out of full power to the point where it can only make it to about half speed. Someone resolve this issue!

Re: 1991 Evinrude 115 Intermittant Power Loss

Still had problems with idle after cleaning the carbs, and a lot of smoke at startup. Took it to a qualified marine mechanic, and he got it running great. He asked if I wanted the VRO bypassed and I gave him the go ahead on that, as it was the original pump from 1991. He said it was pushing stright two stroke oil back into the main fuel line from the tank, causing it to load up intermittantly with all oil and very little gas.. He also found some worn connectors on the timing / throttle linkage which caused the timing advance to be off, especially at idle. Replaced the worn connectors, and did a link and sync. Drove it for the better part of three hours Saturday and it never missed a beat, idled great, and started pretty much instantly after sitting various times.

He also said the compression range was 131 to 126. Hopefully it's good to go.

Re: 1991 Evinrude 115 Intermittant Power Loss

jb_wi,

Did your mechanic just cut off the oil supply to your VRO and unplug the sensors or did he do something else. My issue is almost exactly the same as yours but I have already cut the oil side of my VRO off and I now premix my gas and oil.

Re: 1991 Evinrude 115 Intermittant Power Loss

I am having the very same issue with my 1979 evinrude 115. I suspect it is an electrical issue too. It has happened to me twice in about twenty times out on the Detroit River. A bit disconcerting when it happens but then she picks right back up and runs like a champ! I'm guessing it is the coils causing the problem.

I hope we can find the answer - walleye season is winding down and its time to start thinking about tubing and water skiing in Lake St Claire.

Re: 1991 Evinrude 115 Intermittant Power Loss

After a few trips out with my boat, it was still running pretty good other then starting after short stops. When I stopped, it took awhile to start. I got home and pumped the primer bulb tight and I was getting leakage around the VRO. The oil line was already cut and plugged, but I decided to order a pulse pump and just completly get rid of the VRO.
I bought a new pulse pump (part# 433387) and installed it. When I was doing this, I had to disconnect the pulse line going to the old VRO. When I removed that pulse line hose that fed the old VRO, it was full of gas. I'm not a certified mechanic or anything of the sorts, but I don't think I should have been pulling fuel directly into the crankcase through the pulse line. I wonder if it was causing the motor to load up with fuel? Anyway, I bought a plug fitting to seal the old VRO vacuum hole in the engine block, and installed the new pulse pump. If you look on the block behind the VRO pump area, there is a place where this 433387 pump mounts. You have to remove the plug screw thats in the center hole, then install the new fuel pump in that position. The new pump only has a fuel in, and fuel out connection, so the fuel in, obviously connected to the incoming fuel line from the tank. The out sie of the pump I connected to the fuel manifold feeding the dual carbs.

After I did that, I took it to the lake and I ran about 8 gallons of fuel through the motor. I went from idle to WOT several times throughout the day, stopped and started, idled, etc and it's the best it's ran since I've owned the boat.

Not saying it's the problems you guys are having, but it seems to have (knock on wood) solved my issues.

If you do order this part number if it matches your motor serial number, be sure to order the two screws and the gasket. The connectors on the pump are designed for 5/16" hose.

-Justin

Re: 1991 Evinrude 115 Intermittant Power Loss

Glad your motor is running better, Justin.

I'm taking mine in on Wednesday. I described the problem to my mechanic and he is pretty sure it is an electrical problem. We'll see...

I'm just wondering if anyone found what was going on. I have an 80's Evinrude 115hp I got a couple years ago. Besides replacing a carb, rebuilding the other, and replacing all the coils and a power pack, I've done a bit of work to it. It ran great, for a little bit. Then low power, a pop, then ran great. Then low power etc, you get the idea. Been chasing it ever since. Sometimes it works great for a couple hours, then stop to fish for a bit and barely can get it to start.

Anyway, I would love to know if anyone found the problem.

Thank you,

Zigblazer

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