Hi there. I recently purchased a 1976 Evinrude 9.9 and I'd like to get your thoughts on what I might do to rehab it. The motor is a little rough. It was run quite a lot by the previous owner, mainly for trolling. The engine didn't have a zinc anode on it when I picked it up. The fuel pump and fuel lines were replaced about 4 years ago, as was the impeller.
The previous owner is getting on in years and finally stopped using the engine about 3 years ago when it stopped starting on the 1st or 2nd pull and started on the 4th pull. It's been sitting in his garage covered in dog hair ever since. I only paid $250 for it, so I figure at the very least it's worth it for educational purposes.
I've checked the compression on the motor and it's about 90-95 psi from one cylinder to another. From what I hear, that's not too bad. My first attempt to start the engine started on the 4th pull and ran for about a minute. I needed to keep the choke on to keep it running. No water was coming out of the prop initially. Once the engine came up to about 150 deg F, water started spewing from around the prop, so it sounds like the thermostat is working. Finally after about a minute it just died and wouldn't start again. I sprayed carb cleaner in the barrel and let it sit for a day. It started up briefly again, but then wouldn't. I suspect that the carb is all gummed up and needs a good cleaning.
Which brings me to the point of this email. It'd like to solicit opinions on how I should go about rehabbing it. I have no pressing need for it in the near term. I plan to build a small planing dinghy which will require a motor of this size, but that's years down the road. So I have plenty of time to work on this motor. Having said that, I don't want to make it my life's labor either...
I've purchased a service manual and will use that to work on the engine. I've also been looking through Leeroy's Rambling and the videos from YouTube by cpgixxer. Both of these resources are excellent and I'd like to thank you for your effort putting those together.
Here are a few of the things I can see that need to be done. First, it appears that the top seal is blown. As you can see from this picture, there is oil spread around along the same plane as the flywheel. I suspect that this oil originated from the top seal.
View attachment 169450
Second, the screws at the top of the exhaust housing are very rusted. I'd like to replace those. In the process, it would give me an opportunity to inspect the exhaust housing.
Third, the paint on the power head is peeling off in placed, and some of the bolts by-pass cover, exhaust cover, and water cover are rusted. The lower ignition coil is cracked and generally looking sad.
View attachment 169460
The tiller is loose, where it attaches to the strong bracket. I'll need to tighten that somehow. And the prior owner also said that the tiller gears weren't messing because the washer had warn. So he put a clip in to take up the slack in the works. The gears do mesh well now, but I'd like to make a better fix to this.
View attachment 169463View attachment 169464
I'll need to inspect the water pump of course.
And finally, I'd like to sand and paint the exterior of the motor.
So where do you suggest I start from a disassembly standpoint? Where possible, I'd like to avoid unnecessarily disassembling components (like the manual starter, for example), but I'd also like to break the motor down to the point that I can take a look at the workings of the engine and ferret out any problems that are waiting to happen.
Should I start by removing the lower unit, then remove the exhaust housing, then remove the power head from the lower motor cover? The Service Manual is excellent but it tends to give instructions on how to attach specific problems without disassembling the entire motor. Given that disassembly is a foregone conclusion, how do you suggest I proceed?
Thanks in advance for your help.
-Jonathan
The previous owner is getting on in years and finally stopped using the engine about 3 years ago when it stopped starting on the 1st or 2nd pull and started on the 4th pull. It's been sitting in his garage covered in dog hair ever since. I only paid $250 for it, so I figure at the very least it's worth it for educational purposes.
I've checked the compression on the motor and it's about 90-95 psi from one cylinder to another. From what I hear, that's not too bad. My first attempt to start the engine started on the 4th pull and ran for about a minute. I needed to keep the choke on to keep it running. No water was coming out of the prop initially. Once the engine came up to about 150 deg F, water started spewing from around the prop, so it sounds like the thermostat is working. Finally after about a minute it just died and wouldn't start again. I sprayed carb cleaner in the barrel and let it sit for a day. It started up briefly again, but then wouldn't. I suspect that the carb is all gummed up and needs a good cleaning.
Which brings me to the point of this email. It'd like to solicit opinions on how I should go about rehabbing it. I have no pressing need for it in the near term. I plan to build a small planing dinghy which will require a motor of this size, but that's years down the road. So I have plenty of time to work on this motor. Having said that, I don't want to make it my life's labor either...
I've purchased a service manual and will use that to work on the engine. I've also been looking through Leeroy's Rambling and the videos from YouTube by cpgixxer. Both of these resources are excellent and I'd like to thank you for your effort putting those together.
Here are a few of the things I can see that need to be done. First, it appears that the top seal is blown. As you can see from this picture, there is oil spread around along the same plane as the flywheel. I suspect that this oil originated from the top seal.
View attachment 169450
Second, the screws at the top of the exhaust housing are very rusted. I'd like to replace those. In the process, it would give me an opportunity to inspect the exhaust housing.
Third, the paint on the power head is peeling off in placed, and some of the bolts by-pass cover, exhaust cover, and water cover are rusted. The lower ignition coil is cracked and generally looking sad.
View attachment 169460
The tiller is loose, where it attaches to the strong bracket. I'll need to tighten that somehow. And the prior owner also said that the tiller gears weren't messing because the washer had warn. So he put a clip in to take up the slack in the works. The gears do mesh well now, but I'd like to make a better fix to this.
View attachment 169463View attachment 169464
I'll need to inspect the water pump of course.
And finally, I'd like to sand and paint the exterior of the motor.
So where do you suggest I start from a disassembly standpoint? Where possible, I'd like to avoid unnecessarily disassembling components (like the manual starter, for example), but I'd also like to break the motor down to the point that I can take a look at the workings of the engine and ferret out any problems that are waiting to happen.
Should I start by removing the lower unit, then remove the exhaust housing, then remove the power head from the lower motor cover? The Service Manual is excellent but it tends to give instructions on how to attach specific problems without disassembling the entire motor. Given that disassembly is a foregone conclusion, how do you suggest I proceed?
Thanks in advance for your help.
-Jonathan
