1967 Starflite 80 poor runner

[bass or bass ?]

O.K., here's the deal. I've had problems with this motor since I got the boat almost 3 years ago. It's an Evinrude Starflite 80 hp, 1967. It sounds fine running in a water tank, but under a load in gear, it can't get out of it's own way. I recently had the carb rebuilt, and there is a noticeable difference in starting and slow speed running. In gear, at throttle, the boat crawls along at slightly above no wake speed, and makes occasional sputtering sounds, and sounds and feels as though it's only runnung on 2 cylinders and wants to kick in and run on all 4. The plugs aren't new, but I've bead blasted them clean, and I'm getting spark on all 4 plugs. The ignition coil is not the proper Evinrude one, but an old blue Bosch Volkswagen coil. Could this be my problem, or plug wires, or the plugs thenselves, even though they are sparking when I ground them? At times this motor has taken off , slowly building up speed, and then running at 40 mph until I shut it off. Then it's back to the same old thing again. Deluge me with knowledge please. Thanks all.

 

[F_R]

Re: 1967 Starflite 80 poor runner

O.K., here's the deal. I've had problems with this motor since I got the boat almost 3 years ago. It's an Evinrude Starflite 80 hp, 1967. It sounds fine running in a water tank, but under a load in gear, it can't get out of it's own way. I recently had the carb rebuilt, and there is a noticeable difference in starting and slow speed running. In gear, at throttle, the boat crawls along at slightly above no wake speed, and makes occasional sputtering sounds, and sounds and feels as though it's only runnung on 2 cylinders and wants to kick in and run on all 4. The plugs aren't new, but I've bead blasted them clean, and I'm getting spark on all 4 plugs. The ignition coil is not the proper Evinrude one, but an old blue Bosch Volkswagen coil. Could this be my problem, or plug wires, or the plugs thenselves, even though they are sparking when I ground them? At times this motor has taken off , slowly building up speed, and then running at 40 mph until I shut it off. Then it's back to the same old thing again. Deluge me with knowledge please. Thanks all.

I think you have described the problem pretty well--it is not running on all four. Have you checked the compression to make sure you have a viable motor to work with? By any chance, is there any water getting into the cylinders? Probably not, or it would be a ball of rust after 3 years, but I gotta ask.

OK,you have a two-barrel carburetor. Each barrel feeds two cylinders. If one side is clogged, it will run on two cyls. BUT, that probably is not theh problem here, since you say it suddenly cuts in and out.

The other thing is the ignition system. Your motor has two sets of breaker points, again each set fires two cylinders. Chances are, there is where your problem lies. Hm..m.m.m, but you say you have spark? How much spark? Will it jump a 1/4" gap?

There are other things that might cause your problem. A distributor rotor is one of them. They pin-hole arc through to the shaft. And the VW coil?? I have no idea. Why haven't you tried the simplest--new plugs? Are they the right plugs (J4J or J4C)? Have you checked the spark plug wires for continuity?

 

[henrye718]

Re: 1967 Starflite 80 poor runner

The way I fixed one of my motors when it was running off half its cylinders was to disconnect the plug wires one at a time and check to see if it got worse while running. If it got worse or stalled I knew that plug was working. When it did not get worse I knew that cylinder was not firing.

Make sure you ground the wire you pull or your gona have spark jumping on you or things on the engine it shouldnt be going to. I just used a spare spark plug and a piece of regular copper wire wrapped around the threaded area and the other end to an engine grounded bolt.

This way you can figure out which cylinders are not working, it will give you a better idea of where to start looking.

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: 1967 Starflite 80 poor runner

When you give it throttle does the distributor advance?

 

[bass or bass ?]

Re: 1967 Starflite 80 poor runner

When you give it throttle does the distributor advance?

Yes, the distributor does advance.

 

[bass or bass ?]

Re: 1967 Starflite 80 poor runner

I think you have described the problem pretty well--it is not running on all four. Have you checked the compression to make sure you have a viable motor to work with? By any chance, is there any water getting into the cylinders? Probably not, or it would be a ball of rust after 3 years, but I gotta ask.

OK,you have a two-barrel carburetor. Each barrel feeds two cylinders. If one side is clogged, it will run on two cyls. BUT, that probably is not theh problem here, since you say it suddenly cuts in and out.

The other thing is the ignition system. Your motor has two sets of breaker points, again each set fires two cylinders. Chances are, there is where your problem lies. Hm..m.m.m, but you say you have spark? How much spark? Will it jump a 1/4" gap?

There are other things that might cause your problem. A distributor rotor is one of them. They pin-hole arc through to the shaft. And the VW coil?? I have no idea. Why haven't you tried the simplest--new plugs? Are they the right plugs (J4J or J4C)? Have you checked the spark plug wires for continuity?

Thanks for all your suggestions.
I have done a compression check, and as I recall it was @ 97 per cylinder, + or - 1 or 2 psi.
No water in cylinders.
This last time out was the first since having the carb rebuilt, and there was a noticable difference at start and low speed, however, I don't think running on 2 cylinders would bee all that noticable at no wake speed. Correct?
I'm running the Autolite equivalent of champion J4J, I'll put in a new set.
How do I check spark plug wire continuity? I was thinking of simply replacing them, even though they only have @ a dozen trips on the water.
And I still think the VW coil may not be putting out enough voltage. Comments?
Thanks, and keep the ideas coming.

 

[Evinrude Boater]

Re: 1967 Starflite 80 poor runner

Is it leaving a rainbow of fuel on the water? If so, it's getting fuel, just not burning it. Follow the ignition suggestions. I've had an obstruction in the high speed jet that would cause intermittent bogging when trying to accelerate. In that case, too little fuel, too much air.

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: 1967 Starflite 80 poor runner

The ignition is simple points set the points and that's about it, basic cap rotor and wires, coil may be suspect but if you jumping 1/2" spark it's probably fine, but I thought those old VW's were 6volt systems? If the carburetor floats are too high you'll have problems getting it to even start. Firing order correct 1-3 2-4?

 

[yorab]

Re: 1967 Starflite 80 poor runner

Had similar problems with my 1963 75hp Starflite. Tried all the simpler troubleshooting steps. No go. So I decided to rebuild-more for the sake of learning how to rebuild than anything else. Still in the middle of that project. But, after disassembling the powerhead, I found that two of the crankcase seal rings were broken. This may not be your problem, but it was a problem for me. Good luck.

 

[R.Johnson]

Re: 1967 Starflite 80 poor runner

Your dealing with a 42 year old engine here. A fishing motor of that age can still give good service. A 80 that old, and you would be lucky to get the price of a water pump.

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: 1967 Starflite 80 poor runner

Your dealing with a 42 year old engine here. A fishing motor of that age can still give good service. A 80 that old, and you would be lucky to get the price of a water pump.

I don't get what your trying to say, he wants to run it and didn't say anything about trying to sell it, did I mis something?

 

[R.Johnson]

Re: 1967 Starflite 80 poor runner

I am talking about the value of the engine running.

 

[bass or bass ?]

Re: 1967 Starflite 80 poor runner

Thanks everyone! I'm putting new plugs in first, since my old ones are suspect. Times being what they are, I'll replace the ignition coil with the correct Evinrude coil when I can afford one. $80 may not seem like much, but I'm self employed and business has been awful for a year now.The Bosch coil is a 12 volt, but doesn,'t have the output the Evinrude has. My dad seems to think the plugs are the main problem, so I'll go there first.

 

[thwack32]

Re: 1967 Starflite 80 poor runner

I know this an old thread, but I just got to say it. The Bosch VW Coil uses an internal ballast resistor designed to protect the points at speed. The outboard uses a resistor wire as part of the ignition wiring harness. The result is a low voltage at the coil and will affect high speed operation. Get the stock coil, or an automotive coil without the internal resistor, set points at .20 and give it a go.

 

[prestigegunleather]

Re: 1967 Starflite 80 poor runner

thwack32,

THANKS for the comment. - you were "a help"

yours, PG