1954 Elgin 7.5HP 571.58772 How to dial it in to run smoothly

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LouB64

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Hi.. I have been trying to get my 1954 Elgin outboard to run good so I can take it out to the lake with confidence. It's in good shape and had been worked on several years ago by a vintage outboard repair place. It starts up on the first pull but it stutters and stalls out after a few minutes. I'm not having success adjusting the carb Run control knob and the smaller brass like knob marked Rich at various speeds from start to fast. I have the Rich knob turned about 3/4 turn to the left after it was fully closed all to the right.

I'm attaching a picture of the front of the motor ( elgin front.pdf ). I'm hoping if I explain what I'm doing you guys can critique and tell me the proper steps. To start I use a 16:1 mix using Quick Silver Marine Premium 2-Stroke with pump gas. I reached back out to the guy I bought it from and he said he used that and it ran fine. So I figured keep it the same.
The top has about a gallon and half of gas/oil or so in it.



I open the small gas tank knob on the top of the cover all the way to allow for air to help the gas flow. I open the knob on the lower right all the way to allow the gas to flow into the engine. I put down the choke and place the Magneto switch to Start. I put the carb setting on Start. The red ball knob on the left side is in the far back position. I pull the cord and the engine starts.

Now I let it run for a few seconds then flip up the choke. As it runs then stutters then abruptly stops
I do various things.

I let it run in this position and move the carb Run knob control and/or move the Rich knob to see if I can get it to run better. At lower speeds like in Start or Shift on the Magneto switch (when I Shift on the Magneto I move the red ball lever to the forward position. I tend to stall out more. At slightly higher speeds of moving past Start on the Magneto switch past 2 or 3 dots towards the Fast I tend to stall out less but still stall out. On the higher speeds I move the carb Run knob toward the center around the word Run. I might move the smaller Rich knob a little as well. Most times after a few minutes the engine stall out.

When should I be adjusting the Rich carb knob? Do I have it set correctly at the 3/4 turn to the left? Do I need to keep the carb Run knob in the Start position each time I start the engine? How much of a turn and at what speeds should I be adjusting either the Rich knob and the carb Run knob?

I would love to be able to take her out on the water. Is there a certain procedure to follow at low speeds (what knobs to turn and how much to turn) and at higher speeds (what knobs to turn and how much to turn). Do I have all the knobs turned correctly on my start up. Do I ever adjust the knob on the lower right, the one for the gas to come into the engine? When would I move the carb knob on the Lean mark? Sorry for all the questions. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks
 

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F_R

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Jul 7, 2006
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You are making it far too complicated. I suspect you have some problem other than carburetor adjustments, and they won't help until the real problem is corrected. It sounds like there is not enough fuel entering the carburetor (not enough to keep up with what's being consumed). But that is a guess. You could also have ignition problems like cracked coils.

In other words, some orderly troubleshooting is indicated.

As for the carb knobs. the lower one is the High Speed mixture adjustment and the upper one is low speed. They are close enough to get it stared. Once started, and in forward gear. run it at full speed and adjust the HS knob for best running. Then slow it down to idle and do the same with the LS knob. Again, neither will do any good if there is another problem.
 

LouB64

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Dec 12, 2017
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Thanks F_R... I'm in Rockland County so I had to wait for the cold snowy weather to pass. I was able to get a few good days and tested it out again after doing a visual inspection on the wires. All looked on the new side. I think the problem was more like you said that I was thinking too much. I ran it on 3 days. Each day it ran non stop for periods of 40 minutes, 30 minutes then 20 minutes... Towards each end it kinda stuttered abit but since I had it running in a 50 gal barrel for that length of time I let it cool down after it turned off. Yesterday I let it run dry and drained the rest of the gas out of the glass cup so its now empty. Next season I'll be more confident in taking it out on the water. If I had a few more questions it would be when would I run it all the way on the Lean dial? and should I be leaving the tank dry or should I add some fuel mix with 2 cycle gas treatment and run that for a few minutes to get inside the engine and carb so to not let any seals dry up? What would be your suggestion on winterizing it? Thanks!
 

elgin53

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Jun 20, 2021
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Most likely, the float needs adjusted. The float should hang 3/64's below the flange, when properly adjusted. I suggest you pull the carb and thoroughly clean it. That will require disassembly into 2 halves. The bowl could just be dirty and need cleaned and adjustment of the float, as noted above.
 
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