Evinrude 1954 RD 16 25 hp

I have an Evinrude RD16 1954 25hp manual recoil<br />starting outboard motor. Is there any way I can<br />reduce the compression so that I can pull start<br />the motor, mainly something that I can spray in the cylinders?<br />Thanks for any help.

Re: Evinrude 1954 RD 16 25 hp

Hi Gerald.<br /><br />Welcome to the board.<br /><br />Someone has put an Evinrude cover on your 1954 Johnson RD-16. It doesn't matter. They are identical engines.<br /><br />I don't think reducing the compression would be a good idea. <br /><br />Whoever swapped your cover might have also installed a starter with a smaller diameter drum so that it requires more force to turn her over. If the magneto timing is too far advanced that would also make it a lot harder to turn over.<br /><br />I suggest that you check out some used parts vendors to see if you can get the parts to make it an electric starter.<br /><br />www.twincityoutboard.com would be a place to start.<br /><br />Good luck.

Re: Evinrude 1954 RD 16 25 hp

I believe E/J put an automatic compression release on later motors.I dont know if you can retrofit to older motors it may be worth a look.<br /> I believe they also used an oval shaped recoil pulley that was supposed to make cranking easier.

Re: Evinrude 1954 RD 16 25 hp

You can lock down the motor by using a piece of rope to put up the lock device, this will keep the motor from tilting up when you pull. Also you can tighten the adjuster nut so there is more friction when tilting. I have an RD14 and it's a bear to pull sometimes, especially when off of a boat. I had to bolt the test stand to the floor in order to test start it after refurbing it. You want to make sure your "carb sync" is set properly and that the butterfly is BARELY open when the lever is in low speed position. I had mine set so the butterfly was open too much, which let in too much air making it difficult to start AND made it very hard to pull and made it idle rough, if at all. I would buck and spit back and die. These motors are very sensitive to the sync adjustment and will not take much butterfly opening when the spark is retarded a lot.