Re: '72 25 evinrude sportster
Hi,
I have a '70 version of that motor... if you have properly timed spark and good compression, that leaves fuel as the issue... you can pull the carb and give it a good cleaning. Also check that the choke butterfly is actually closing when you pull the choke knob. On mine, the little choke spring had worn mostly through, and had developed a little "catch" that would prevent the choke from closing even when the knob was pulled.
If it has really sat that long, I'd be suspicious of the coils (cracked and loose spark once they warm up), and I'd definitely replace the impeller! It would be a shame to toast a fine old motor because of a dried up $10 rubber part. My 25 seemed to pump water OK, but I changed the impeller when I first got it. I found the old one was dried out, and had one vane broken off that was getting pushed around the water pump. It pumped lots more with a new one.
If you checked spark and compression before you used it, I'm assuming you re-checked now that it won't start again? Again, the coils might have gone south once they got warmed up... or the motor could've overheated...
That's my $.02... good luck!
