Re: 1972 4HP Evinrude - Will not stay running!
I did attempt the hand pump method when I was trying to get her going, and I did not notice a change at all. The vent in the tank is open, infact I decided to test it with compressed air and blew the seal right out of it, so it works both ways now. I wasn't sure if this would interrupt the fuel system at all, I assumed the one way vent was more to eliminate fuel vapors escaping the tank when it was sitting around the garage, or in your car. Just incase I tried to start it while holding a finger over the vent and pumping the bulb with no results. Also, while I had the compressed air handy, I blew out all the other parts I could in the fuel system, including fuel lines, tank screen, carb, & fittings. As far as I know this motor was laid to rest before the ethanol fuel was the only type you could buy, so I don't think any of the lines or carb have been tortured till now. I was planning on replacing them with the alcohol resistant type. That of coarse with have to wait untill the thing will actually propel something down the river for me. The one thing I did not do was pull the needles all the way out and blow air and carb cleaner in from that direction. The high speed needle you can access easy enough to clean out, I'm not sure how well the cleaner would get to the low speed needle. Also to add, is that the carb was never dirty, even the first time I pulled it apart. I still cleaned it 2 or 3 times, but it looked pretty fresh from day one.
I'll add some history of the motor as well here. The thing was my fathers, and it ran great while he had it. One day it started acting up, and he was informed that the top end needed some attention. It had the old coils that would get all cracked up, and stop working. He took the coils, condensers, and points off and brought them in to see what it would cost to replace. He used the thing to push along a small canoe around the rivers, so when he got the price for everything he said he'd rather just paddle. Needless to say I was told all I'd need to get for the thing were the parts mentioned above, and she'd be good to go. As you all know I got spark now, and she's not good to go quite yet.
One thing I did notice last time I had the thing going for a second or two, was that the motor seemed to flucuate. It would run for a second sounding healthy and then start to die out. Usually it repeated this process 2 or 3 times at the most, and did eventually stall out. Would it be worth getting the carb kit and pulling the needles out to clean and repack? Or do these symptoms sound like they might originate elsewhere?
