1991 Evinrude 70hp Problems (idling)

jguy · #1 May 8th, 2002, 08:58 AM

Well, I finally saved enough money to do it. I purchased my very first fiberglass bass boat, a Stratos. I was so excited about it, I mean it looks sharp! Anyway, I put it into the water yesterday and then I began to feel sick in my stomach......Well, first of all, it cranked up o.k., but I had to knock it out of gear and give it some throttle, and choke it while turning the starter over. It cranked. I ran up river really good. I was feeling good about the boat. Ever since I cranked it, it will not idle whilst out of gear. It'll just go dead. Also, the cranking mechanism is hanging (you can hear it buzzing once the engine is cranked). I have to turn the keys back to disengage the cranking mechanism. Any ideas on how to make this quit sticking? I sprayed it with WD40 and let it sit overnight. My main concern is getting the thing to idle properly. Help!!!!!

JB · #2 May 8th, 2002, 09:23 AM

Hi, Joe.

You need to get yourself a manual.

Do the linkage and synchronization (link 'n' synch) procedure. That will get the 3 carbs singing the same tune and get your ignition timing to match.

Your starter motor isn't supposed to disengage until you turn the switch off of "start". From your description it sounds like it is behaving normally. If I misundrstand, try again.

Good luck.

jguy · #3 May 8th, 2002, 09:29 AM

Thanks for the prompt response. I will get the manual and do as you say. By the way, how difficult is this procedure? I'm a 25 year old "youngster", "mechanically mental retarded", and have never worked on an engine. I fix PCs/Computers for a living. Also, I'm broke!! LOL

The reason that I was worried about the starting procedure is because I could hear a "buzzing/whining" back at the motor until I put the key back into a 90' position. If I'm not careful, I'll actually kill the engine!

Confused.....

DJ · #4 May 8th, 2002, 09:49 AM

Joe,

Keep hitting that starter drive with WD-40. Also, while your doing that turn the drive by hand. If you turn it counterclockwise (I believe) it will walk up the shaft and visa versa. DO THIS WITH THE BATTERY DISCONNECTED!! It took me a good 1/2 hour of doing this and spraying with WD to get mine to free up.

Do as JB said. For close to the same price as a "generic" manual you can get get the original from a Johnson/Evinrude dealer. The sync./link. isn't that hard, just read the manual and familiarize yourself with all the parts.

Make sure you are running "clean" fuel with a good TCW-3 rated oil. You may want to run some Ficht Ram oil-it will help clean the carbon out of the engine.