Evinrude 15hp questions

martyh

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Jul 12, 2006
Messages
93
Hey guys, I was wondering if you could help me with something. I am new to the outboard area and I am looking at a ’88 15hp Evinrude for my 12’ Gamefisher.
It is a short shaft with electric start and a charge cord. The owner says the prop has a few nicks in it but other than that it is in real nice shape and runs real nice. I have not seen it yet so I am limited on information at the moment.

I am going to look at it this weekend and I was wondering if there was anything specific I should look for. Just because the cover says 15hp, is there anyway I can verify that it is in fact a 15hp? Would you recommend a compression test before starting it and if so what should the numbers be? Is there anything else you can recommend that I check for?

Thanks in advance.
 

martyh

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Jul 12, 2006
Messages
93
Re: Evinrude 15hp questions

Well I screwed that one up, I meant to put the question in the Outboard Non-repair Discussions.
 

tashasdaddy

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Nov 11, 2005
Messages
51,019
Re: Evinrude 15hp questions

it's ok here. get the model number, off the transom bracket, or silver quarter size disc on the engine block, that will verify the year and hp. by all means a compression check, 100 psi or over, and withing 10 % of each other. als check spark, and the oil in the lower unit for water. all you have to do is pull the plug, and water comes first, if it has been sitting. do this before starting the engine. if you can get the seller to give you the model # we can verify before you look at it. easier than that here are the #'s for an 88 15hp

E15ECCS,E15ELCCS,E15RCCS,E15RLCCS
 

martyh

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Jul 12, 2006
Messages
93
Re: Evinrude 15hp questions

Thanks for the input. I went and checked it out tonight, the tag was there as you said and it appeared to be correct. Motor looked pretty nice overall. It had been sitting since last summer, but they could not get it started. It was getting fuel and good spark, and they even tried using starting fluid to make it start, still no luck.

As I mentioned I am new to the outboard stuff, but I did look for obvious signs of anything that was wrong. I did notice that when the primer bulb was squeezed, gas would drip out of the two holes on the cover below the fuel pump. Could not see where it was coming from, whether it was a cracked hose or leaky fuel pump and it was just running down and dripping.

Is the fuel system under any kind of pressure or vacuum to make it operate? If the fuel system losses pressure will that keep it from feeding the carb and/or running?
 

tashasdaddy

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Nov 11, 2005
Messages
51,019
Re: Evinrude 15hp questions

sounds like the carb is dirty, and the float is stuck shut. NEVER use starter fluid on a 2 cycle engine, it has no oil, and strips oil from engine surfaces, also burn so hot it can burn a hole in a piston. use premixed gas, i a squeeze or spray bottle. do a compression check. were the spark plugs, dry or wet.
 

martyh

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Jul 12, 2006
Messages
93
Re: Evinrude 15hp questions

The spark plugs were wet. They were taken out at one point, dried off and re-installed. That’s when spark was checked. The engine turns over fine but just wouldn’t start. Did not check the voltage on the battery, just assumed it was fully charged as it was still connected to a charger and it seemed to be spinning pretty good. Now that I think about it the carb was pretty wet, so I suspect an issue with the float. I will have to have them check that part out.

Thanks for the info on the starting fluid, makes sense
 
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