1977 Evinrude 115hp

[vano6990]

I have a 115hp evinrude outboard and while fishing over the weekend it ran great. Sunday moring ran fine then when I tried to start it after fishing, it just wouldnt fire. Just kept cranking but woudnt start? Is this a sign of fouled spark plugs? Right behind the air filter seems to be getting flooded with gas as well. And I noticed where the lower unit connects to the mid there has warn a small hole in the housing @ that connection. Is that something bad? I just bought this 1976 Ranger Bass boat but dont know much about a motor this size. I do have an owners manual but dont know where to start?

 

[MCM]

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115hp

The gas/flooding you see is most likely due to the continuos cranking, the fuel is being pumped in but since the motor is not firing it has nowhere to go.<br /><br />The first thing to check would be to see if your getting any spark at the plugs. Spark should be strong, blue and snappy and jump about 7/16 of an inch. Weak yellow spark or no spark would indicate an ign. problem and will require further troubleshooting.<br /><br />Post back results.<br />Oh, and welcome to Iboats

 

[vano6990]

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115hp

I really appreciate the info. I have to wait till Saturday to get it from storage. I will let you know the results. Do spark plugs foul without warning? <br /><br />Does that hole that seems to have been worn between the lower unit and upper housing indicate something else going bad? Also my prop nut is loose but still has the cotter pin keeping it from truning. Should I tighten the bolt and put the cotter pin in or is it supposed to have play it it? <br /><br />Thanks and glad to be a member!

 

[MCM]

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115hp

Spark plugs foul for several reasons, poor spark, the fuel/oil mix, that and just getting old, I carry an extra set just because its a fairly common thing in 2 stroke/2 cycle motors. The prop nut should be tight but not overly tight I beleive and the hole is probably not a good thing, I'm not exactly sure how a hole would get worn there though.<br /><br />Keep on posting

 

[vano6990]

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115hp

I really hope just fouled spark plugs are the cause. For the hole I dont know. All I viewed was a little stream of water with a black mixture coming out! It looked like possibly oil or maybe carbon due to the flooding gas?

 

[mikeyzx2]

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115hp

I have the service manual for that particular engine Flathead, let me know if you need any technical info. I've been fightin' with the no starting demons, and recently I pulled the flywheel and booyah! the darn stator is pushing up daisies, so to speak. The black is normal especially for these old motors, but sorta indicative of things not burning off. Post of photo of the hole if you can.....I'm trying to picture what you're describing.

 

[Joe Reeves]

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115hp

When checking the spark to jump that 7/16" gap as MCM states, have the spark plugs removed.<br /><br />Check the ignition switch for an intermitent short by disconnecting the large RED electrical plug at the engine, then check for spark. Crank the engine by jumping the starter solenoid large battery terminal to the small 3/8" hex nut terminal that engages it. If you have proper spark with that RED plug disconnected, but weak or no spark with it connected, replace the ignition switch.<br /><br />The stator under the flywheel is a two fold purpose component, one of which supplies approximately 300 AC volts to the powerpack which the pack requires in order to be energized. Check the stator for cracks or melt down problems. A melt down would result in having a sticky substance leaking/dripping down from it onto the timer base and/or block. As per the above post, Mikey could supply you with the ohm meter readings/procedure of the stator's output wires to the powerpack (Brown, Brown/Orange or Brown/Yellow).<br /><br />Note.... Simply replacing the spark plugs could possibly get the engine running BUT that does not cure the problem that fouled them.

 

[vano6990]

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115hp

Thank you for the info all, this will get me going in the right direction. Going to get my boat from storage asap. I then will photo the motor and try post it (dont know really how to attach the photo, but will try to figure it out??), and give you my results. Another thing, when I throttle the motor when it gets to approximately 30000 rpm it then like starts to race to wide open throttle approximately 47000 rpm then I pull the throttle back to lower the RPM/Speed to about 42000 rpm (aprox. 30MPH). Is that a carburetor problem or just an adjustment needed in the throttle arm? Thanks again for the help

 

[mikeyzx2]

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115hp

FH, the surge from 3000 to ~4700 rpms sounds like a fuel issue, maybe the carbs need cleaned THOROUGHLY, meaning they need to be soaked in carb cleaner and passages blown out with compressed air. even tiny restrictions will have a big effect. and you really want your WOT rpms to be up around 5500-5800 honestly. 4200-4700 is lugging the motor. if you plan on keeping this motor, get the service manual it's about $50 bucks but well worth it, it covers only your motor (and mine, it covers 85 and 115 hp motors)

 

[vano6990]

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115hp

Thanks ordering it now.

 

[mikeyzx2]

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115hp

FH, not to sound like beating dead horse, but the WOT rpm's need to be as high as what I mentioned. Lugging will cause preignition, fouling, and eventually powerhead failure as a result. These motors absolutely run best at such a high rpm versus being puttered around like a kicker. I'm not saying you have to be gunning it everytime you moving but if you're on the move, open it on up. That's a huge piece of advice that is stressed alot from these fellas on here!

 

[vano6990]

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115hp

Thanks. Is this problem with the RPM solved by the soaking of the carbs in carb cleaner and blowing out the passages or does it have something to do with the fuel oil mixture or adjustments in the throttle arm? Right now I am using synthetic Penzoil per sellers advice, and mixing at 16oz per 6 gal of gas. The motor sure dosent feel like it is lugging, although by fouling if you mean spak plugs? I think that is what might be happening. 5500 to 5800? So what does a 115hp usually get in MPH?

 

[vano6990]

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115hp

I am picking up my boat tomorrow to start fixing it. Is there some specific things other than the info above I should be checking related to these problems? And worried about the hole mentioned above is that bad? I think I can repair it with JB Weld or something.

 

[vano6990]

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115hp

mikeyzx2 can you tell me what spark plugs I need. I have a book and it says one type by champion with a .040 gap. Found out the ones in my engine are not the right ones. They are for a 120hp like 1985-199? evinrude. As for the hole nothing to worry about. Supposed to be there. Spent hours looking for spak plugs that cross reference but not luck. They are all too long or short for depth but I am not sure how far the depth shoud be. Any Thoughts?

 

[vano6990]

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115hp

P.S. The ones currently in the motor are only 0.030gap.

 

[MCM]

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115hp

Champ L77JC4 gapped at .040, there is also an alternate plug for sustained high speed operation it was UL77V, not sure if it's been superceded though

 

[vano6990]

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115hp

Thanks for the #. Getting them now. Testing boat this weekend. Will post results after trip. Will putting in the right spark plugs do anything to motor operation? Meaning it wont mess up the timing or anything like that?

 

[MCM]

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115hp

Won't hurt a thing, on the other hand the wrong plugs well???

 

[vano6990]

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115hp

I went out Thursday. The motor started well. I had packed the boat with the camping supplies and we went. During operation the wide open throttle was about 5200 rpm, but the motor made a funny noie like it was going to die. I dropped the throttle, and it stalled out. Wouldnt start for a little while. After a while I cranked it a copule of times wihtout the choke, then applied the choke and it started. The boat runs great from about idle to 4500 rpm but seems to possibly want to overheat maybe at higher rpm. I really dont know. Any thoughts? Should I buy carburator kits and clean them by soaking in carburator cleaner? Yes it runs but dont think it will in the long run. I also replaced the gear oil in the lower unit. Is there anything I need to watch for?

 

[MCM]

Re: 1977 Evinrude 115hp

Carb kits wouldn't hurt if they haven't been done for awhile, you'll want to have a service manual, preferably OEM when you do it. Several good post here on rebuilding carbs, link & sync, etc. your carbs have fixed jets so there shouldn't be any adjustment needed, just make sure you get all the passages clean, use compressed air and an indexed drill bit if necessary on the jets.