1978 Evinrude 15 hp - Starter rope and lanyard

[Patmark]

Hi

1. I've got some problems with the spring for the starter rope. Any ideas how to lock it in place? On starting, the spring will jump out of it's outer fixation and jump up. Could be because some genius previous owner has grinded down the whole case for the spring, so it's way lower now. I beleive they've done it because they didn't know there should be a distance (a flat metal thing?) under the spring. The fact that it was missing probably made the plastic wheel get stuck to the spring, and they thought it was the case that were too high... Stupidly.

2. I would like to fit a kill cord lanyard on the engine. This model has the stop button on the right side of the starter handle. What to do?

3. The engine doesn't go very well, it starts but then it seems to need LOTS of throttle to keep going (without having the gear in). It has some problems with both the

Any ideas?

 

[Rick.]

Re: 1978 Evinrude 15 hp - Starter rope and lanyard

1. Do you mean the spring gets drawn into the cup when you pull the rope?
2. I've done that a few times. Search for a 'universal lanyard kill switch' made by SeaDog. Fit perfectly in the same hole as the kill switch and has normally open and normally closed contacts for you to choose. Choose normally open and use the same wires that now go to the kill switch.
3.Could be a few things wrong but I would probably start with a carb. cleaning and a kit. Best of luck. Rick.

 

[Patmark]

Re: 1978 Evinrude 15 hp - Starter rope and lanyard

1. Yes, first it slides up from it's position and squeezes up on the plastic, then it starts to get pulled over the edge, into it's metal container. However, after I've bent and budged with the container, done some welding on it to fix a crack, and most importantly replaced the washer that was missing, I got the whole thing to work quite well. However it was still dragging the end of the spring into the metal case, so I fitted a thin screw through the curl on the end of the spring, and put a big washer underneath the curl that will hopefully keep holding it down. We'll see after I've started it a bunch of times, but for now it stays in place. If no one has new input I will consider matter nr 1 to be closed

2. Thank you! I will sure look for that one. I hadn't found any info earlier whether it worked even on these older engines, where the stop button is on the engine. Point 2, check.

3. Okay, is there any info available about cleaning the carb? I'm not sure how much I need to remove from the engine to be able to clean it. And what's that kit? I got it to run pretty smoothly today by giving it more throttle. I guess I also need to learn to know the engine, I just bought it.

Some new questions has occurred. Unsure what's your practices in this forum, whether I should start new threads for everything or keep building?

4. How much fuel would an engine like this consume? Will there be going liters and liters of gas if I leave it on idle? How far could I go on like 10 liters of gas, if I'm going quite quick with a really light boat (4 m rubber boat)?

5. The engine is really jumping around quite a lot, like it's loose hanging on a spring or something, even though the clamps and everything is really tightly screwed and is not intending to jump off. Is this vibrating/jumping normal, and is the construction build like that intentionally to keep the tiller from vibrating? I feel it's much less distress on my hand and arm than my other smaller engines, their tillers vibrate like crazy.

6. How much longer could I expect an engine like this to work? 1978. Is it depending on it's compression and stuff, or what makes it break down forever?

7. What is the biggest differences between these real old -78 and newer from the nineties? And I don't mean small changes like different tillers, buttons on other places, different colors etc. I mean big things, more like lower consumption, more effect, less prone to break totally etc.

EDIT: felt that the last question was off topic, I'll start a new thread for that one.

 

[Patmark]

Re: 1978 Evinrude 15 hp - Starter rope and lanyard

I've got it running today, used it on the river. Sadly on one start pull the spring got loose again, from the middle though, not from my screw fix.

Also succeeded to install the lanyard! Thanks for the tip.

 

[Rick.]

Re: 1978 Evinrude 15 hp - Starter rope and lanyard

I used to have a search on Ebay for 9.9 recoil starters and they came up often. Your 78 was the last year of that recoil design and a new one started in 1979 so 78 and earlier will work for you if you want to go that way. Your fuel consumption will be reasonable. Far better than a 9.5 but not as good as a 4 HP. Take an extra gas can with you until you have a better feel for it. Trolling 10 liters will last a long time but WOT not so long. Your engine should not jump around. There is a pin in the stern bracket that is used for setting the trim , make certain it is there. Also an the starboard side there is a lever you flip to run position and tilt position. Make sure your in run. It's possible a 78 could outlast it's current owner as long as it is maintained. Glad the lanyard switch worked. I think it is an wise modification and much safer to have it. Rick.

 

[Patmark]

Re: 1978 Evinrude 15 hp - Starter rope and lanyard

Thanks, lots of questions answered there. I found this video about cleaning the carb, so now I might give that a go too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKVckfUYTEM&feature=related

Would be nice to give the engine some extra silencing, any way to do that? I understand that it wont be a 4-stroke all of a sudden, but perhaps I could give it some improvement?

The starter spring got loose again, my quick fix by sawing through the plastic keeper didn't do the trick for more than a few starts. So, the delivery time for a new plastic wheel is like two weeks over here, and I'm not planning to let the engine sit quietly for that long. I am now starting it with the fly wheel, but that doesn't feel safe or comfy.

Is there any glue or something that could help the spring hold on to the plastic just for now? The big strain is still on the plastic, but I just want something to make it not slip out so easily.

 

[ratchetdog]

Re: 1978 Evinrude 15 hp - Starter rope and lanyard

Hi

1. I've got some problems with the spring for the starter rope. Any ideas how to lock it in place? On starting, the spring will jump out of it's outer fixation and jump up. Could be because some genius previous owner has grinded down the whole case for the spring, so it's way lower now. I beleive they've done it because they didn't know there should be a distance (a flat metal thing?) under the spring. The fact that it was missing probably made the plastic wheel get stuck to the spring, and they thought it was the case that were too high... Stupidly.

2. I would like to fit a kill cord lanyard on the engine. This model has the stop button on the right side of the starter handle. What to do?

3. The engine doesn't go very well, it starts but then it seems to need LOTS of throttle to keep going (without having the gear in). It has some problems with both the

Any ideas?

I had the same problem i think that the slot just wears with time but i drilled threw the housing and the spring and pop rivet it and then coiled it back up and it works great. and i think you need to clean that carb with rebuild kit to fix to idle

 

[the machinist]

Re: 1978 Evinrude 15 hp - Starter rope and lanyard

Go back to the start of this forum & under Frequently Asked Questions. On the top of page 2 is a link to my articles (9.9/15hp Johnson/Evinrude). I have many articles on these motors. It may take some time to read but I try to have the most concise info available here.

As for differences in 2 stroke OMC motors, these used the same powerhead & lower unit from 1974 up until 1992, (slight modifications however like ignition & throttle controls). The 1993-2006/2007 (when they dropped the 2 cycle), this motor was changed considerably. The early models were pretty bulletproof if maintained.