1972 Evinrude 18hp trouble

[cathunter]

Im having trouble with my 1972 Evinrude 18hp and was wondering if some of you might be able to point me in the right direction as far as finding out what the problem is. When we bought the motor last year it ran like new. Would start up on a dime and not miss a beat while on the river. Now the motor likes to cut out and die at slower speeds. If im going anything above half throttle the motor runs great but anything less it cuts out and the slower you go the worse it gets until it dies. Most of the time it will start right back up with a little help of the choke. Im thinking maybe trying a tune up (points and condensors) to see if that will help any. Im not a boat mechanic by any means and have no idea if that will help or not but thought I would give it a try. If anybody has any suggestions I would love to hear them. Thanks in advance, Josh.

 

[lindy46]

Re: 1972 Evinrude 18hp trouble

Clean/rebuild the carb. If it's running good at high speed, it's probably not an electrical problem.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: 1972 Evinrude 18hp trouble

Agree, If you don't know when the carb was last rebuilt then it is due !!!

 

[nwcove]

Re: 1972 Evinrude 18hp trouble

since you can run it, somewhat, id try spending a few bucks on "seafoam" i read about it on this forum, had some doubts about those types of products, but after a couple of short runs in a barrel, my small motor idles like new. maybe it would have cleaned itself up without seafoam......i really dont know, but for $10 bucks its worth a try befor spending money on parts you dont need, and could be using that cash to fill your tank!

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: 1972 Evinrude 18hp trouble

since you can run it, somewhat, id try spending a few bucks on "seafoam" i read about it on this forum, had some doubts about those types of products, but after a couple of short runs in a barrel, my small motor idles like new. maybe it would have cleaned itself up without seafoam......i really dont know, but for $10 bucks its worth a try befor spending money on parts you dont need, and could be using that cash to fill your tank!

Disagree, see post #3
Just my humble opinion though.

 

[nwcove]

Re: 1972 Evinrude 18hp trouble

i agree to disagree lol, when i first flashed my motor up,(according to the seller, it hadnt been run in at least 5 years) and it wouldnt idle, popped and kicked a bit slightly above idle, i bought a carb kit , impeller, and a can of seafoam. thought what the heck, ill try the seafoam first, carb kit is still sitting on the bench, the motor idles smooth as silk, throttle response is as good as i would expect! im still going to replace the impeller, and save the carb kit for when its needed. i would have never even thought of trying a 10 buck fix, but another member pm'd me and recommended that i try it first.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: 1972 Evinrude 18hp trouble

i agree to disagree lol, when i first flashed my motor up,(according to the seller, it hadnt been run in at least 5 years) and it wouldnt idle, popped and kicked a bit slightly above idle, i bought a carb kit , impeller, and a can of seafoam. thought what the heck, ill try the seafoam first, carb kit is still sitting on the bench, the motor idles smooth as silk, throttle response is as good as i would expect! im still going to replace the impeller, and save the carb kit for when its needed. i would have never even thought of trying a 10 buck fix, but another member pm'd me and recommended that i try it first.

Respect your opinion but a carb rebuild is part of essential routine maintenance in my opinion. Especially when the motor is an unknown quantity.

 

[cathunter]

Re: 1972 Evinrude 18hp trouble

Thanks for the replies. Ill give the carb a good cleaning and see if that helps. If not ill buy the carb kit and go from there. Thanks, Josh