On my last straw!

[GreatRiverDucker]

Ok men here is the story. I've posted about this motor before but for different problems. It is a 72 evinrude 25hp Sportster long shaft. We bought it from a guy who said it ran but probably needed a tune.

So the first trip to the water went like this, it started ok, but when we opened it up it slipped out of gear. We took it to the shop, and the guy flipped the clutch dog around.

Well when I took it out the second time, same problem, slipping out of gear. Took it back to the shop, the guy put a whole different set of gears from an older motor in it, he said that they were slightly different, but that they would work.

This time on the water it was having trouble getting fuel. Went through fuel line from tank to motor, switched to new line, was slightly better for a little while but then had more problems when running in the tank. So I took the fuel pump off, disassembled and cleaned it, put back on. Then while running it in the tank I sheared the water pump pin. So I had to replace the whole water pump.

Whew, so third time on the water it started, backed up, but when I put in forward and gave it throttle it started to bog down and then died.Then it would backfire when restarted. Note that it didn't die when in reverse.

So at this point I was getting really frustrated.

Ok so then I sought your help, and checked comp(approx 120 on both), and spark good on top cyl (7/16") not so good on bottom cyl ( maybe 1/4" but intermittently) so I thought it was probably a bad coil but didn"t have time or tools to pull flywheel. So back to the shop it went. The guy checked the coils , said they were fine, replaced a vacuum line that he had previously patched, and replaced the fuel pump.

Fourth time on the water. It took a long time to start but finally it backfired and started. It seemed to be running well just a little smoky. So we started down the lake slowly up to plane. Then lots of smoke and it lost power and died. Back to the shop.

This time the guy says that it overheated, because the water pump pin sheared again. And that the pistons were scored and now comp is only 75.

ARRRGGGHHHHH!!!!

Ok so basically I'm wondering if there is any hope for this motor, if so what to do, or if I should turn it into an anchor. Also does anybody have any clues as to what the issues were?

 

[jbjennings]

Re: On my last straw!

I'm sure you'll have some real experts check in shortly, but my 2 cents---its a boat anchor, now. Compression bad, lower unit problems--it isn't worth fixing. Even doing it yourself would result in having more money in it than it is worth and it sounds like no one correctly diagnosed the initial problem.
Sorry about your motor, I have had similar stuff with used motors in the past...sometimes you have to count your losses. It shearing water pump pins is odd--sounds like your mechanic missed some obscure problem when he replaced the gears. Hope you have better luck in the future..
JBJ

 

[1730V]

Re: On my last straw!

I'll be happy to take it off of your hands-for free.

You may have just popped the head gasket, an easy fix.

The water pump should NOT be shearing pins. There is something going on there. Tell us more about that.

 

[Solittle]

Re: On my last straw!

I wish I had a dime for every time I have read "We bought it from a guy who said it ran but probably needed a tune." And then comes the tale of woe.

Next time you are looking at an engine check it out yourself and/or have a marine mechanic check it befor you take your wallet out, turn it upside down and shake vigeriously.

 

[1730V]

Re: On my last straw!

That is a very durable and fairly simple engine. Tell us about the water pump issue then we'll dive into the other stuff.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: On my last straw!

I'll be happy to take it off of your hands-for free.

You may have just popped the head gasket, an easy fix.

The water pump should NOT be shearing pins. There is something going on there. Tell us more about that.

Didn't think about that one! With all these experts at hand, hopefully you'll have some luck..I hope so!
JBJ

 

[luckyinkentucky]

Re: On my last straw!

I'd suggest going to a new mechanic. Just my 2 cents on that subject. As much money as you've paid on mechanic's fees you could have probably rebuilt it by now.

 

[GreatRiverDucker]

Re: On my last straw!

The water pump was ok when we got it, but after i ran it in the tank for awhile trying to get it the fuel issue figured out it stopped spraying water (I think I might have reved it too high with no load on it in the tank:eek): so no water, pump must be toast
I ordered a new pump kit and replaced the whole thing, I had a little trouble with the drive shaft and pin (I posted about it previously) i.e. it dropped about 1/4" when the shifter was not in neutral causing the pin to be below the pump plate could this be caused by the different gears?

and yes i've learned my lesson on buying used motors, but still this motor always ran fine in a tank

 

[GreatRiverDucker]

Re: On my last straw!

OK so I really hate to dredge this thread up from the depths, but I need some help.

Update on this motor: Turned out that the mechanic put the wrong gears in in the first place - this was causing the water pump pin shearing. After it overheated we took it back to the shop and he had it until the end of the season(i.e. i never ran it last fall).

Now on to the new problem. The other day I pulled the boat out and was gettin it ready to try in the lake and thought I'd try a comp check. Anyway couldn't get a good reading w/o battery to crank it, and gave up. Then when I went to put the plug back in, the threads stripped out. So now I pulled the head and am gonna take it into a shop to get helicoiled.

What is the sequence and torque for the head bolts?

How do I clean the threads? I assume I should use some permatex when I put the bolts back in.

Here's pics of the cyls

sorry that the pics are a little blury. How do they look other than a little carbon buildup? I'm hopin to fix this so that I can sell the boat. Thanks for any and all advice.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: On my last straw!

First, lose the "mechanic."

Second, we need some advice from some folks that know this engine - I don't but that piston crown doesn't look normal to me. I'm wondering if you are in the process of burning a hole in it.

I am also wondering, along with the others, if this engine is worth fooling with.

 

[F_R]

Re: On my last straw!

Piston looks hot and dry, but I don't see anything else. Can't see the sides for scoring.
If you plan to use this thing, put in a new head gasket

 

[GreatRiverDucker]

Re: On my last straw!

OK so here's better pics of the bottom cyl

Motor has not been run since september.

I know about the mech, but my dad said to just give it to him until it was fixed. Kinda wishin I wouldn't have taken it to him in the first place:redface:

Anyone know the torque specs off hand?

 

[jethro66]

Re: On my last straw!

96-120 inch pounds 8-10 foot pounds

 

[dodgeramsst2003]

Re: On my last straw!

That cylinder doesn't look that bad. I've seen a lot worse on engines that were running fine. I know others may disagree with me here, but as a dyno/instrumentation techinician who tests engines, you'd be amazed at what you can get away with and still have a reliable engine. (some of the best engines are built by guys in a dirty garage environment who have never heard of a "clean room") Just my 2 cents worth. Please guys don't give me a hard time here, i'm just speaking from the experiences I've had.

Chris