1963 evinrude 40hp Big twin

[bskye85]

GRRR... just when everything starts to run, it has to go sour....last week me and my fishing buddy took out my 1973 Glastron Aqualift (w/ the 40hp bigtwin on it) we were cruising right down river for about 45+/- miles!! then the motor just bogged right down. My buddy said it's only running on 1 cylinder (not 2) and because of that, we surely ran outta gas!!!...well after about 4+ hrs. of drifting down stream to the next boat launch, my buddy had narrowed it down to be a bad Sparkplug...and a bad plug wire!!!....i have no manual w/ this old evinrude bigtwin, and i need to know where the other end of the lower spark plug wire connects, and what type of connection theese plug wires may have...and advice on where to start would be greatly apprieciated

THX, Dusty

 

[lindy46]

Re: 1963 evinrude 40hp Big twin

Check spark with a spark tester, available at any auto parts store. If you indeed do not have spark to one cylinder, it is probably a bad coil. Coils are under the flywheel, and you need a flywheel puller to get it off. The spark plug wire connects directly into the coil - there is a coil for each cylinder. Also could be the points, condenser or plug wire, or even a bad spark plug. But do the spark test first.

 

[bskye85]

Re: 1963 evinrude 40hp Big twin

I have spark!! tested bolth, and bolth have good spark....downside is, the lower plug wire itself was damaged and was grounding off the carb. it'self..had my mechanic splice a new plug wire on, put new plugs in, and she fired up. I was proud of the ole 63'..running as good as any newer OB.

My question is...should this (professional) splice be a temporary fix and i need a new coil/plugwire..or should this last the rest of the season with moderate use? Only being that i cannot afford much at this time, but have my eye on a 99' merc 40hp. for next season. Also, im having problems with finding info. on how to change the lower oil..and what type to put in this old pig...thx for all thie info thus far, back on the kennebec river tomorow for some striper fishing, and hopefully not another drifting down the river experiance! ill post in how it goes when i get back.

THX, Dusty

 

[R.Johnson]

Re: 1963 evinrude 40hp Big twin

Professional splice, twisted wire's bound with tape. If it get's anywhere near metal, it will fire right through that tape, heat shrink, or what ever was used.

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: 1963 evinrude 40hp Big twin

If it was spliced well (soldered, heat shrink, etc), and the splice is not in a high stress area, then it should be OK. If it was done badly (not insulated), then no.

 

[bskye85]

Re: 1963 evinrude 40hp Big twin

If it was spliced well (soldered, heat shrink, etc), and the splice is not in a high stress area, then it should be OK. If it was done badly (not insulated), then no.

Indeed, Waterproof Heatshrink tubing...the "spliced" lower plugwire has been slightly extended and zip-tied to a big rubber sealer ring for the cap(no metal's around the heatshrink)

just pulled out a compression test, was told it was holding good compression, Local boat repair guy is cheap and comes right over..cost me $20 for the test....but i have no experiance with such a test, so it was well worth it. Seems ready for the river tomorow. I still have no idea about how to change out the oil in my lower unit...or what type of oil... I bought a Evinrude 57'-75' repair guide, but this area is very misleading on the lower years(63') ..Any help would be great!

 

[lindy46]

Re: 1963 evinrude 40hp Big twin

Two slotted bolts about the size of a dime. The lower one is the drain and the upper one is the vent. Remove both, and let L/U drain. Get a quart of marine gearcase oil about 90wt. from Johnnyrude dealer or Walmart also has it. I'd pick up a pump for about $10 to pump the oil in the bottom hole. Pump until it overflows out the top vent hole. Then replace the vent bolt. Quickly remove the pump and replace the drain bolt. Make sure to replace the nylon washers/seals as they prevent water from getting in to the lower unit. NOTE: Do NOT remove the Phillips head screw near the slotted drain bolt. That holds the shift yoke in place and is a pain to get it all back together if you remove that screw.

 

[bskye85]

Re: 1963 evinrude 40hp Big twin

Thank you on the lower Unit info!!..

Well, today we put the old glastron in the river again...fired up first pull, and ran on bolth cylinders this time instead of just the 1.....we took her from Augusta, Maine down to georgetown Maine(Atlantic coast)..no idea on total miles, all i know is we burned through 15gal's of gas and it took approx. 1 1/2 hrs. there and 2hrs back(up river)...was a very exciteing and long voayge, motor ran well and held up just as good. We set out at sunup, and pulled in at the boatlaunch in Augusta at 1/2hr. past sundown. To top it all off, my buddy hauled in the catch of the day with a 34inch 22lb monster striper under the Bath, Maine bridge (Next to Bath Iron Works)...being june29'th we had to let this beauty go, but as she swam off i was reminded of why it was we soo enjoy boating....Nature, Good company of friends, And the satisfaction of knowing that the boat and motor that carried us soo very far from home, was patched, gutted, re-glassed, and refurbished by us(total boating amatures)


Ill be sure to fill up the lower unit b4 we take our big 4th of july trip. The local fireworks are done over the river we fish, so after a day of striper fishing, well head back into town just intime to watch the fireworks from the boat......thank you all on the helpful advice thus far.

Dusty-

 

[lindy46]

Re: 1963 evinrude 40hp Big twin

WOW! You got a lotta guts embarking on a journey that long! Did you have a kicker onboard?

 

[bskye85]

Re: 1963 evinrude 40hp Big twin

Yeah, we have a 50lb. thrust minn-kota in the event that we may need it. In the kennebec there is a MASSIVE current at all tides always pushing south toword the coast. The minn-kota will not bring us back up river, but will carry us faster down river to the next boat launch if needed ...besides, when we spent 4hrs drifting that one day last week, it was nothing less then fun. (the oldladys told us to be home by 7!!! the evinrude decided we needed to stay out till 11 lol) Ill post how our 4th trip goes, and as alwayse Thanks for all the info, yall have made it possible for me to fix up this antique OB and saved me endless ammounts of stress and $$!!



-Dusty-