22ISLANDER
Seaman
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2007
- Messages
- 53
I'm posting a letter that I wrote to a local Looper guy about my adventures getting this engine going, I've had my share of let-downs, but refuse to give up.
One mistake that I made is that I stated I used NGK plugs, but they were actually Autolite that were cross referenced from Champion plugs ( the parts store did not have Champions)....... If anyone has some helpful input, I would much appreciate it.
I have a 1987 Evinrude 225...TXCUB...it is mounted on a Seadrive on my old '85 Wellcraft 228 Sportsman WAC. (VRO is bypassed, so is the shift interupt switch)
I bought the boat knowing that it was not running, but it has good compression..88-92 psi ( which I have been told is very good for a looper).
The guy who sold me the boat told me the stator was bad, so I bought another stator and installed it with no luck, no spark. Then I took the boat to a certified OMC shop to have it troubleshooted, and they told me that both power packs were bad. So I saved up some more money and bought used power packs ( with a warranty that they were in good working order), installed them, and still no spark.
Then, I paid a guy to come over ( Marine Tech) with his Fluke DVA meter to test the system. He told me the Timer base was bad. So I saved up some more and bought another Timer base. But this time, when I pulled the flywheel, I noticed a magnet had cracked and moved. I did some more research and found this was a common problem ( iboats.com), so I knocked out all the magnets from the flywheel, bought a new one, cleaned up the flywheel and re-glued them with metal epoxy, properly spaced as per BRP instructions, then replaced the Timer base and put it all back together.
Finally, I had spark !
But still could not get the beast to run.
I pulled all the drain plugs from the carbs, and the fuel that came out was clean. I pulled one carb off and removed the float bowl to have a look for varnish or debris, and it was clean as a whistle. The previous owner told me he had the carbs gone thru before he sold me the boat ( the guy has been very honest with me, and has answered any questions I had about the boat after the sale).
Getting desparate, I finally got it to start with a shot of starting fluid in the airbox, it would fire, barely run, then smoothed out and settled down, seeming to run great. ( all cranking and starting was on water muffs). I 'doped' the fuel with Fresh Start
Finally it was time to launch the boat !
All was well for about about 45 minutes, then it started losing power, and died at a dock 10 miles from where I launched. I figured it had to be bad fuel.
So, my next trick was to get a 6 gallon tank with fresh fuel and oil, mixed 50:1, drain the carbs and shoot the bowls with carb cleaner, flush the old fuel out of the lines, and bypass the fuel tank all together. Once again, it was a bear to start, and finally pulled the spark plugs and they were fouled and oily. So I put new plugs in and it started up and cleared itself up.
5 miles into my trip back home ( not on a plane, but above trolling speed) the engine started losing power again, and fowled the plugs once again. NGK plugs. I pulled them and they were soaked !
I know this is a long story, but I'm lost. And nearly broke. And I'm having a hard time trying to trust folks who take my money but don't fix or find the real problem.
Since you have your own website, and are a dedicated OMC Looper guy, I figure you might be able to steer me in the right direction.
The engine is not overheating, 2 brand new batteries, new plug wires, good spark, clean fuel. It puts out 14-15 volts on high idle.
Question is, carbs or ignition ???
This is my first 2-stroke outboard, I used to be strictly a Mercruiser guy.
Be glad to swap for a 200 that runs...Ha Ha Ha !!
One mistake that I made is that I stated I used NGK plugs, but they were actually Autolite that were cross referenced from Champion plugs ( the parts store did not have Champions)....... If anyone has some helpful input, I would much appreciate it.
I have a 1987 Evinrude 225...TXCUB...it is mounted on a Seadrive on my old '85 Wellcraft 228 Sportsman WAC. (VRO is bypassed, so is the shift interupt switch)
I bought the boat knowing that it was not running, but it has good compression..88-92 psi ( which I have been told is very good for a looper).
The guy who sold me the boat told me the stator was bad, so I bought another stator and installed it with no luck, no spark. Then I took the boat to a certified OMC shop to have it troubleshooted, and they told me that both power packs were bad. So I saved up some more money and bought used power packs ( with a warranty that they were in good working order), installed them, and still no spark.
Then, I paid a guy to come over ( Marine Tech) with his Fluke DVA meter to test the system. He told me the Timer base was bad. So I saved up some more and bought another Timer base. But this time, when I pulled the flywheel, I noticed a magnet had cracked and moved. I did some more research and found this was a common problem ( iboats.com), so I knocked out all the magnets from the flywheel, bought a new one, cleaned up the flywheel and re-glued them with metal epoxy, properly spaced as per BRP instructions, then replaced the Timer base and put it all back together.
Finally, I had spark !
But still could not get the beast to run.
I pulled all the drain plugs from the carbs, and the fuel that came out was clean. I pulled one carb off and removed the float bowl to have a look for varnish or debris, and it was clean as a whistle. The previous owner told me he had the carbs gone thru before he sold me the boat ( the guy has been very honest with me, and has answered any questions I had about the boat after the sale).
Getting desparate, I finally got it to start with a shot of starting fluid in the airbox, it would fire, barely run, then smoothed out and settled down, seeming to run great. ( all cranking and starting was on water muffs). I 'doped' the fuel with Fresh Start
Finally it was time to launch the boat !
All was well for about about 45 minutes, then it started losing power, and died at a dock 10 miles from where I launched. I figured it had to be bad fuel.
So, my next trick was to get a 6 gallon tank with fresh fuel and oil, mixed 50:1, drain the carbs and shoot the bowls with carb cleaner, flush the old fuel out of the lines, and bypass the fuel tank all together. Once again, it was a bear to start, and finally pulled the spark plugs and they were fouled and oily. So I put new plugs in and it started up and cleared itself up.
5 miles into my trip back home ( not on a plane, but above trolling speed) the engine started losing power again, and fowled the plugs once again. NGK plugs. I pulled them and they were soaked !
I know this is a long story, but I'm lost. And nearly broke. And I'm having a hard time trying to trust folks who take my money but don't fix or find the real problem.
Since you have your own website, and are a dedicated OMC Looper guy, I figure you might be able to steer me in the right direction.
The engine is not overheating, 2 brand new batteries, new plug wires, good spark, clean fuel. It puts out 14-15 volts on high idle.
Question is, carbs or ignition ???
This is my first 2-stroke outboard, I used to be strictly a Mercruiser guy.
Be glad to swap for a 200 that runs...Ha Ha Ha !!
