Hard to start after sitting for a week

it will turn over and over for like 3 to 4 minutes, (letting the starter cool), then it will finally fire, then once it fires, it runs great all day, turn it off, then it fire right up....all day.....park it for a couple of days or longer, and it is heck to get this to start. Fuel bulb is firm, cant find why it is hard to start, dont smell flooded, it almost sounds like it starving for fuel, but the bulb ir firm and if i try to sqeeze it, it has no affect.
Anybody got any suggestions.

this is an 1986 70 hp evinrude.

new plugs, new ignition system. Carbs were rebuilt last year. ...had stablizer in it then ran that out and have put fresh fuel in it with no help

Re: Hard to start after sitting for a week

Just read it was for outboard this is for 2 barrel down draft w/float bowl .


I use a old gear oil container with fresh gas to fill up float bowl ,doesn't take much.As I learned on here about them being top vented and after a week or so under tarp it seemed to take to long to start as the fuel evaporated . Cleaned antisiphon valve ,put in new fuel pump,fresh gas , starts nice but after setting a week/month the manual fill of the bowl is the way I go. Don't fill up container .don't set down in boat , and the little red cap is not a gas tight lid .I do it in the drive before I go to the lake without trying till it is in the water .Got to store under roof but during season I leave out in full sun .

Re: Hard to start after sitting for a week

Are you using your primer correctly ?? Is it even working ?? I believe post #2 is for a stern drive.

Re: Hard to start after sitting for a week

I had an early 70's 135HP Evinrude v-4 with a similar problem. Except... mine would start & run but would miss on one or two cylinders. My engine had tilt & trim. I finally learned that parking the outfit for, say, a week with the engine tilted and the lower unit supported by a transom saver, one or two floats would stick (4 carbs) shut. I learned two solutions. (1) The easy way: Just run it as fast as it would go. If two floats were stuck, one would eventually vibrate itself loose, at which time I'd re-adjust the throttle to again reach max speed. After a few minutes, the 2nd float would vibrate loose, at which time I could ga'head and haul some serious a** for the remainder of the outing.
(2) The hard way: Pull each float in turn, drop the float chamber and manually unstick the float chamber valve. <-- I'd do that to all 4 carbs and was good to go.

Assuming you park your boat with the engine tilted - either via tilt & trim or via a transom saver, consider dropping your lower unit if you're gonna park your rig for a while.

Re: Hard to start after sitting for a week

One afternoon I got a phone call from a despirate boater that his 70hp Johnson would not start. He had been trying to sell it for 2 years & now he had it sold the next day, but had run the battery down & not a pop. I told him that it was out wedding anniversary & I was planning on taking the wife out to dinner. He pleaded, just help, he would pay whatever I wanted.

When I got there, I did the normal, plugs, fuel, carb timing etc., everything looked OK. Time to try it. With the hood off, I had him try to start it from the helm. Not a pop. Wait a minute, TRY IT AGAIN, it started. He said what did you do? I had simply manually choked the motor. I asked if he was trying to choke it at all from the helm? His comment was how do I do that? Maybe that was why he was trying to sell it, as no one had instructed him to just push the key in to activate the electric choke as he twisted the key for the starter.

These motors are cold blooded. I had one that acted the same, once started it would restart all day long without choking.

Re: Hard to start after sitting for a week

This can be a dangerous practice.If the motor is running and 1 or even 2 floats are stuck that means no fuel is getting to those cylinders.RESULT: no lubrication. That may seem OK for a while but a lot of wear is taking place leading to ultimate failure and probable seizure.This is not idle speculation,it has happened to me with a Johnson Stinger I had that eventually threw a rod while maintenance idling.
Geoffwga1

Re: Hard to start after sitting for a week

Thanks to all that replyed, im going to the river tomorrow, i have used the choke before but not for very long....going to try for longer this time....have double checked everything has far as fuel which is 2 days fresh, and the bulb, making sure it is pushing fuel when squeezed. we will see. will post update.
Thanks agian

Re: Hard to start after sitting for a week

always use some kind of fuel stabilizer, sea foam, stabile, or fuel fresh. Helps keep things from sticking. Also store in down position. When going to use again after a long sit, tilt engine and pull plugs pour some fuel oil mix in cylinders put plugs back in and tilt down and start.

Re: Hard to start after sitting for a week

If your floats are sticking, I would remedy that. Some of the practises mentioned above can be catastrophic.

I believe themachinist may have hit it on the head. Many times, poor cold starts are due to operator error. No offense intended.

What is your cold start procedure, step by step?