1965 evinrude lark "hard to start"

[diver311]

Hello all. I am new here and to boat ownership. I am clueless. I got a cheap 65 glastron with matching evinrude lark. I was told all the motor needed was a new fuel pump and it would run. He even gave me the new pump. I installed the fuel pump, and put the lower unit in a tub of water and tried turning the engine over using the rope pull since it didnt come with a battery and i have yet to get one. I could barely pull the rope, and not near fast enough to get the engine to do anything. Would i be better off getting a battery to electically start it or is this a sign of bigger problems. Thanks for the help,

 

[F_R]

Re: New to the board and already problems!

Re: New to the board and already problems!

Depends on how tough you are. Not meaning to offend or insult you in any way, but a "normal" man should be able to hand crank it. Take the spark plugs out and see if it spins freely. It should turn real easy with the plugs out. If it doesn't, squirt some penetrating oil in the cylinders and try again. If still tight, you got real bad trouble. Check the spark while you have the plugs out.

Don't forget to turn the key on when hand cranking, and make sure it is deep enough in the water tub to submerge the water pump.

 

[diver311]

Re: New to the board and already problems!

Re: New to the board and already problems!

Lol, no offense taken. Well im putting all 250 lbs into it, and it will come out part of the way at a slow pace. I will try taking the plugs out and see what happens. Thanks for the feedback

 

[OBJ]

Re: New to the board and already problems!

Re: New to the board and already problems!

Diver, more accurate info can be passed on to you if we know the year. Can you post a model number please with your next post?

Thanks!

 

[diver311]

Re: New to the board and already problems!

Re: New to the board and already problems!

Its a 1965 lark vii. selectric. Where would I get the model number? I will try and get a manual ASAP.

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: New to the board and already problems!

Re: New to the board and already problems!

If it's that hard to pull over by hand, then something isn't right. You should have no problem pulling it over through a full revolution or more. As bulky as these old 40s are, they are not high compression engines.

It could be just dried out and once some mixed fuel & oil make their way through it'll loosen up a bit. Or, there could be something else working against you - checked the lower unit oil? Those Selectrics need special gearcase lube. Checked compression? Might be a busted ring or something hanging it up...

- Scott

 

[reeldutch]

Re: New to the board and already problems!

Re: New to the board and already problems!

make shure its not in gear

 

[BF]

Re: New to the board and already problems!

Re: New to the board and already problems!

I'm not sure, but aren't the old electric shifts in F by default... I think once they start (and make voltage) they flip to neutral (?).... I'd borrow a battery and try turning it over with that. If it hasn't been run for a long time, it'll be a bear to start by hand anyway... also if it uses an electric choke you could pull it a looooong time it still won't start.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: New to the board and already problems!

Re: New to the board and already problems!

Couple of things.

As I recall, the electric shifts failsafe position is F gear. That means that you need a battery to get the electric shifter to go to N. That will help the pulling. Besides, with a battery your electric start should work and you can quit worrying about how hard it is to crank.....assuming no mechanical problems.

Squirting some Deep Creep (Sea Foam in a spray can) will aid in getting it started the first time. No one mentioned crudded up fuel system (or I missed it) and that could well be a concern. Spraying DC into the carb and into the cylinders can get the engine to light off. If it won't stay lit then work fuel issues.

Was reading on the ole-omc.de site the other day where they had a service manual for a 5 1/2 of that general vintage. In the manual they mentioned that to get adequate water circulation when operating in a test tank, you should remove the plate on the side of the lower unit just above the antivent plate. If that is suggested for the small engine, surely the larger ones (of the same water pickup design) need it too.

The plate is easily recognized. It has 2 screws to secure it, is about 1" high and several inches long. Should have cutouts or holes in it. Just take it off and when you finish your barrel testing put it back.

Also, watch your water temp in the barrel. It will get hot if you do much running or fail to replenish it.

Water needs to be over the water pump bulge (in the lower unit housing) to be picked up....you know where that is if you changed the impeller. Once you start running then you can tolerate some drawdown as the suction will/should have been established and should remain.

HTH

Mark

 

[BF]

Re: New to the board and already problems!

Re: New to the board and already problems!

oh, and I forgot to say "welcome"...

and as a tip, you'll get more input if you make the title of your initial post (the "thread") more informative... there are folks on this board who have particular interest / expertise in specific model lines.

like "65 lark hard to crank".... btw, you can edit that in your original post from the little pull down menu..

good luck

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: New to the board and already problems!

Re: New to the board and already problems!

Actually it will not engage gear without a battery. With the old electric shifts, Fwd and Rev energize electromagnets that yank on springs to engage the gear. Yours can run great, but still leave you stranded if the shifting system fails. That happened a few times. So the new generation that Texasmark is thinking of required it to be shifted out of forward, making Forward the default position.

Those 40 twins need a lot of yank. I can't imagine being able to do it on a stand. On the back of a boat or in a test tank are about the only ways. I had a Johnson 40 twin and it took all of my weight with one foot on the transom to spin it fast enough. 3 yanks and I'd need to rest.

 

[diver311]

Re: New to the board and already problems!

Re: New to the board and already problems!

This site is awesome. I cant believe all th info people are willing to share. Who knows, maybe one of these days I will learn enough to help others. Also, I will change the thread title. I took the spark plugs out today and the rope pulls freely. I checked for spark, and got what looked like small spark to me, but im not really sure how much its supposed to spark. The battery thing makes since. Im having alot of fun messing with this so i am going to get one and some deep creep and see what happens. Thanks for all the help!

 

[F_R]

Re: 1965 evinrude lark

Re: 1965 evinrude lark

That motor should throw a good 1/4" spark. If it doesn't, then you don't have spark. Weak spark, or spark jumping the gap of plugs held against the head, or lighting up your eyeballs when you hold the wire doesn't mean anything.

 

[itstippy]

Re: 1965 evinrude lark

Re: 1965 evinrude lark

You can use your car battery and a set of jumper cables to start it. Hook one black end to a good ground on the outbaord motor's engine block and the other black end to your car battery's negative (-) post. Then hook one red end to the red wire that's attached to the starter motor, right at the nut where it attaches to the starter. Touch the other red end to your car battery's positive (+) post. You are bypassing the solenoid completely. The starter will crank. You want to do the final "touching" to the car battery's post because if you do the "touching" to the starter/red wire nut the resulting spark can screw up the threads, like a cheap welder.
Make sure the choke is manually set to "choke". Make sure you've squirted something slippery into the spark plug holes and pulled the rope a couple times to lube the cylinder walls. Make sure you have it deep in a trashcan of water. MAKE SURE YOU DON"T REV IT MUCH OVER IDLE! Those old 40's can "run away" if you let them. If your kill switch (key switch) isn't hooked up you'll have to idle down all the way and choke it to stop it.
Sure beats pulling that rope.

 

[diver311]

Re: 1965 evinrude lark

Re: 1965 evinrude lark

I got a battery, and the engine turned over great, but would not start. I squirted some gas/oil mix into the carbs and tried starting it everyday for 3 or 4 days, but nothing. Then I got some Seafoam (could not find deepcreep) put it in the gas tank and squirted some in the carbs. After about the 3rd or 4th try it fired up. Now it fires up on first turn of the key and sounds great to boot. I kno i gots lots to do to make her perfect, but now im hooked. Ready to give it a quick test run on the water. My problem is the (lower cowling ?) is off of the boat. The cover that goes around the midsection of the boat. I can get it back on but i gotta get some bolts out that were broken off, and put new ones in. My question is, could any harm be done running without it for a short trial run?

 

[iwombat]

Re: 1965 evinrude lark

Re: 1965 evinrude lark

No harm really, but it wont be an adequate test of performance. They were designed to run with the cover on, so airflow and tuning will be off with it wide open to the elements.

On second thought . . . Splashing the powerhead and all the electricals w/ salt water would probably not be a good idea. You testing it out in fresh?

 

[iwombat]

Re: 1965 evinrude lark

Re: 1965 evinrude lark

Reading your description again . . .

What cowling are we talking about here? Midsection of boat?

I'm a little puzzled.

 

[diver311]

Re: 1965 evinrude lark

Re: 1965 evinrude lark

lol, I meant midsection of the engine. Its got the cover for the engine, but this is a two piece cover that goes beneath the power head. When i run it in the tub for say over 5 minutes with out it, water bounces up on the side of the engine( not the powerhead) and creates some steam. Wished i knew all the terminology. Still trying to talk the boss into letting me drop 30 bucks for that manual.

 

[benjaminok]

Re: 1965 evinrude lark

Re: 1965 evinrude lark

lol, I meant midsection of the engine. Its got the cover for the engine, but this is a two piece cover that goes beneath the power head. When i run it in the tub for say over 5 minutes with out it, water bounces up on the side of the engine( not the powerhead) and creates some steam. Wished i knew all the terminology. Still trying to talk the boss into letting me drop 30 bucks for that manual.

Steam does not sound too good...are you having cooling water coming out of the rear?
Iwombat is right, running the engine without the midsection peace will not really give you an indication as the engine is supposed to run with it mounted on. Well you will have an indication wether it runs or it does not run, but its not really a good testmethod.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1965 evinrude lark

Re: 1965 evinrude lark

he's talking about the lower cowl. that keeps the water from, splashing up. cold water on a hot engine, is a good way to crack a block. get the lower cowling back on. then test it. also service the lower unit. grease change and new impeller. you don't want to burn it up on the 1st run. this wil help in the future.

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