1958 Evinrude 35 leaking foamy fuel, and no power.

[55Crestliner]

This is sort of a 2 part thread.

I have this 35 horse Evinrude Lark that I just ran at the lake for the first time today. Brought it home, and put it in the barrel to run.

Did not run up fast enough, something is definitely wrong.

I noticed a frothy blue liquid (obviously gas/oil mix) accumulating and dripping at the shift lever.

Obviously, I have a seal/gasket of some sort leaking. I can not find any trace of this gas coming from the filter glass. And being that it's whitish, it must be getting partially combusted I'd guess.

Is this a concern? Is this causing a lack of power?
It is VERY slow on my lightweight 1956 aluminum 14 foot Crestliner.
It ALMOST gets on plane, but takes a long while to get there - it is not revving anywhere near 4500 as it should with stock prop.

Just a little background -
I'm new to this particular motor. It was free.
I have not done a link/sync yet.
I have not done a carb rebuild.
I have done a carbon cleaning.
It has evidence of overheating - paint is baked off of the head area. (I replaced the impeller, all is good now for that)
It has good compression - about 105-110 in both.

I did not have a tach on it yet (ordered one).
I did not have a speedo.

Just took the flywheel off, and ONE of the coils is the old resin type, and it is cracking with chunks falling off. (I'll get 2 new ones, plus wires, condensers, points).

 

[kbait]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 leaking foamy fuel, and no power.

I'd first refurb the ignition and confirm w/spark tester (search johnnyrude forums and you'll find how to make a cheap, effective one.)

I'd then pull the carb and clean all passages, and reset float(level w/carb body when inverted) and repack needle jets. Set high speed 3/4 or so from seated, and low speed 1.25ish.

Replace gearcase lube, and note any milky or water..

It should run like a dream with your stated compression. I've seen 'em run like new, even w/evidence of overheating.... IF they still have good compression, as yours does.

Obviously, you're running on one cylinder, very likely due to the cracked coil. It will make that boat sing when it's right.

Don't ever stress too much about oily/greasy looking water in the barrel. Old 2-strokes are notorious for that (especially if only running on one lung), and extra smoking in the barrel too... When you're done, and it's running good, leave the motor sit upright for awhile and check the gear lube. That'd be about the only thing to worry about w/goopy barrel water..

Good luck.. and email me w/any questions.. I'm really good w/'em. kirbysbait@mchsi.com

ps. There's TON'S of great info on this site.. just search, or ask. JB or F.R. will help you quick, cause that's just how they are! Also, check and probably replace (if they're rock-hard) your fuel lines under the cowl.. That'd definitely make for some blueish barrel water If there's even a small crack (probably near a clamp and a bend in the hose...

 

[55Crestliner]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 leaking foamy fuel, and no power.

Great advice. It's been about 3 years since I've rebuilt one of these carbs, (I've done 3 in the last 5 years) so now that you mention it, I seem to recall some of them having issues with the float. I'll do that.

You might have misunderstood about the fuel leak issue - I wasn't concerned about what's in the barrel, I'm concerned at the fact it's leaking out the side of the motor, right at the shifter linkage - yet I can't figure out why it would do that.

 

[F_R]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 leaking foamy fuel, and no power.

Great advice. It's been about 3 years since I've rebuilt one of these carbs, (I've done 3 in the last 5 years) so now that you mention it, I seem to recall some of them having issues with the float. I'll do that.

You might have misunderstood about the fuel leak issue - I wasn't concerned about what's in the barrel, I'm concerned at the fact it's leaking out the side of the motor, right at the shifter linkage - yet I can't figure out why it would do that.

You have good advice so far. However, I suggest you attack one thing at a time. Don't mess with the carburetor till you get the ignition problem resolved. I agree, the cracked coil probably is your lack of power problem (running on one cylinder).

Ok, the leak from the shift lever: There is all kind of nasty oil / water / exhaust crap inside there. In your case, there is even more oil (fuel) because it is not being burned in that missing cylinder. Normally, you do not see that stuff blowing out because there is an oring around the shift shaft to stop it from blowing out. Your o-ring is shot from wear and age AND/OR the shift shaft is loose and sloppy in the hole that it goes through and even a new o-ring won't seal.

So what to do? Nothing. Anything that blows out that hole was destined to go on out the underwater exhaust anyway. However, if you have a loose, sloppy shift shaft, you will continually have shifting problems. Unfortunatly there is no good cure except replace the exhaust housing.

 

[F_R]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 leaking foamy fuel, and no power.

You have good advice so far. However, I suggest you attack one thing at a time. Don't mess with the carburetor till you get the ignition problem resolved. I agree, the cracked coil probably is your lack of power problem (running on one cylinder).

Ok, the leak from the shift lever: There is all kind of nasty oil / water / exhaust crap inside there. In your case, there is even more oil (fuel) because it is not being burned in that missing cylinder. Normally, you do not see that stuff blowing out because there is an oring around the shift shaft to stop it from blowing out. Your o-ring is shot from wear and age AND/OR the shift shaft is loose and sloppy in the hole that it goes through and even a new o-ring won't seal.

So what to do? Nothing. Anything that blows out that hole was destined to go on out the underwater exhaust anyway. However, if you have a loose, sloppy shift shaft, you will continually have shifting problems. Unfortunatly there is no good cure except replace the exhaust housing.

Follow-up. I just realized you said you have a Lark (I should have looked at the pictures). The shift shaft on the Lark is much better than the non-Lark model. A new o-ring will probably fix yours if you want to tear it down and replace it. It can be a somewhat intimidating job for a novice. Also, on the Lark it would be crankcase drain oil that you are seeing. That will always be there, even if running correctly. But there is more of it if the carburetor is running too rich.

 

[55Crestliner]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 leaking foamy fuel, and no power.

Thanks F_R. I'll tackle the ignition stuff first, and run it. But I'll pick up a carb kit too, and do that after initial test. (I acually like doing carbs - fun to me)

It would be nice to know what exactly gave the best results, so I'll only do one system.

 

[55Crestliner]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 leaking foamy fuel, and no power.

Just thought I'd give an update. The old Rude is going pretty well now. It was clearly running only on one cylinder.

I wanted to do just one "fix" at a time, but just couldn't. I did the ignition and carb at the same time. Just so much easier that way, and I was pressed for time. Carb showed no signs of being an issue - very clean.

I was pressed for time, because I was taking this boat camping at a lake, and needed it running.

It ran pretty well, but it was an absolute bear to get started almost every time, (pull start, and with jumper cables) and it had a surging issue at part throttle. I've traced that to a bad fuel pump diaphram, that I've since rebuilt.

My 1956 Crestliner Viking (14 foot aluminum runabout) went a consistent 28 mph with just me in it. Not too bad for a 35 - and one that had a bad fuel pump. My 12 footer with a 25 hp does 29/30 with just me in it.

Can't wait to test it out with that new pump, but I'm guessing the top speed will be the same, just better starting and mid range running.

I can't believe all that fuel was being sucked into the crankcase and still running.

 

[55Crestliner]

Re: 1958 Evinrude 35 leaking foamy fuel, and no power.

All fixed. Fuel pump repair made all the difference. Running very well now.