Evinrude 115 run in salt water

I bought above 1991 motor, look good all over. Previous owner used it on a trailered boat, for fishing in mediteranian and British channel. Heavy salt water. Maybee a good deal of slow running. What do I have to check before I put it in use again. I plan on replacing impeller, cleaning/rebuilding carbs, checking thermostats. It has compression, from starboard, seen from back, starting upper: 122, 122, 122, 132? What will cause the one higher ? Gauge pretty accurate. How do I get to thermostats, behind waterjackets ? Can I decarb, when i´m only able to run on muffs afterwards ?<br /><br />I read a thread mentioning possibilyties of leaky water hose at powerhead, where do I check that ?

Re: Evinrude 115 run in salt water

Access to the thermostats on that era of V4 crossflows is lots of fun. The last discussion of it was both recent and good, try searching the archives under "thermostat".

Re: Evinrude 115 run in salt water

G Dane: OMC's of this vintage and earlier were the motors of choice in this area [Gulf of Mexico] because they did hold up in salt water. I think what you're planning on doing will be adequate. There are many still in service and have proven to be dependable. At the beginning of the season, I decarb on muffs and then follow with a second decarb when the boat is in the water. This has worked for me with a 12 year old Johnson V-4.

Re: Evinrude 115 run in salt water

For the thermostats, if your V-4 is like mine with the Bubble exhaust, ( looks like a Bell housing on the back of the engine between the two banks of cylinders), the thermostats are located below the bubble housing, [ really fun to get too ]....<br />You first should check your operating temp.. If O.K., go fishing and don't worry about it.<br />But, if you must dig into it, the easy way is to pull the power head if you have the means. This way you can get to the damn thing and save yourself alott of aggrevation. <br />Other wise, you'll need a 1/4" swivel socket set with extension, ( 8' to 12" ) to get down in there without dropping the lower bonnet. I think the socket size is either 3/8" or 10 mm.<br />The other thing you will need is a helper with plenty of patience.<br /><br />The problem is re assymbly. With 2 thermostats and 2 pop-it valves and to large springs,-- aligning, holding all the parts in place, and getting a bolt started will try the will of even god him self. You need 4 hands in there but there is only room for 2 hands. ( Thus the reason the other man said with a Grin, ( It's fun !!! ))<br /><br />Thus the reason I will pay the extra $10.oo for a power head gasket and pull the power head than change the stats in place.<br /><br />It is usally a time saver to do so beleave it or not.<br /><br />Hope this helps,<br />Bradster....

Re: Evinrude 115 run in salt water

Thanks a lot ledgefinder, Jack Shellac and Bradster941. <br /><br />I got the "bubbleexhaust too" Would it be a good idea soaking the thermos in anything to clean, once I get them out, or just replace. What do you think of compression, compared to your own. Is it decarb time ? . Do you just iddle it on muffs for some time after decarb, to get rid of the stuff inside ?

Re: Evinrude 115 run in salt water

Gdane,I would install new t/stats if it were mine.That'll buy you more peace of mind.Your compression readings look good tome as the one that is slightly higher is within 10% of other three.I also don't see a problem with decarbing and running on muffs after decarb has had a chance to do its thing.I do it myself before winter storage.Run on muffs for 5-8 minutes varying rpms from idle speed up to 2000 for 45 seconds to 1 minute and then dropping back to idle.I use OMC engine tuner for this procedure and inject it into the schrader valve on the primer solenoid as per can instructions.<br /> Someone on an earlier post mentioned something about drilling access holes through lower cowl to gain easy access to lower thermostat housing bolts.They predetermined location and size and used plastis body plugs to seal off holes that are removable for future servicing.As I recall holes were drilled just large enough to accept a small diameter extension and socket was put on from inside.<br />I would also replace the upper and lower seals on the lower exhaust section while you've got the lower unit off.They're cheap.