1998 evinrude 115 (E115TLEND) No Power

[Canadian boater]

Hi All,
I'm new to this forum thing, but i'm hoping someone can help!

I have a 1988 Charger ski boat with a 1998 115 rude on it. the motor was rebuilt just before i bought it, by a dealer ( i saw the receipt ) It only has 3 tanks of fuel thru it.. It runs perfect at any RPM, Starts Right up anytime.. it just has absolutely no power, like it won't pull a 150lb skier out of the water. it has a 18 pitch Raker SS prop on it but it tops out at 4500 rpm at 40 mph, it doesn't make for a very fun ski boat. I've had the cabs rebuilt by a dealer and a general tune up done. Any ideas???

p.s 120 psi compression in all cylinders..

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1998 evinrude 115 (E115TLEND) No Power

i do not know the boat, but your WOT RPMS are 1,000 low for that motor, could be over propped, waterlogged hull. how long have you had the motor, any warranty on the rebuild, if so take it to them, don't mess with it. has the motor been sitting for a period of time?

 

[Canadian boater]

Re: 1998 evinrude 115 (E115TLEND) No Power

the warranty has run out apparently, it was a 60 day.. 100 or so days ago..
the boat is small and light. 800lbs empty. the boat has never sat in the water for more than a weekend. Someone told me that merc OB have left and right side pistons, does apply to evinrude? the best way to describe this problem is, its a great running 50hp in a 115 body.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1998 evinrude 115 (E115TLEND) No Power

OK, you have check your compression and it is fine, now check spark with a tester, should jump 7/16 inch. if that is good, start the motor, then with insulated pliers, pull one spark plug wire at a time, you should notice a drop/change in rpms/ sound of the motor, when you replace it, the motor should go back to normal. do this on all 4. if you do not get a change then, the motor is not running on that cylinder. time to find out why. post your result of this. we will go from there. not which ones are not running.

 

[Canadian boater]

Re: 1998 evinrude 115 (E115TLEND) No Power

ok, i have tried that. its firing on all 4, except when i pulled one plug wire off it arced over to a tan colored wire going to what i think is a temp sensor on the head and now the buzzer goes off constantly.. not good right? possibly a fuse?
want to buy a motor? lol

 

[jason915]

Re: 1998 evinrude 115 (E115TLEND) No Power

You need to run your motor at 5500; I would drop down a few pitches on your prop especially for skiing. A raker is more of a top speed prop not a ski pulling prop.

 

[Canadian boater]

Re: 1998 evinrude 115 (E115TLEND) No Power

i realize that, i don't ski very often, i'm more of a top speed kind of guy... it was just to give you guys an idea of how gutless it is, and i would think a small lite boat like that should do more than 40 mph right? the guy that i bought it off of said before the rebuild it would do close to 60...
at 5500 rpm, is that fully trimmed (half cavatating) or mostly trimmed not cavatating.. ? someone told me that throwing a rooster tail it could rev about 5800? if i trim it up all the way i can 5000 out of it but don't gain any speed, just puts on a nice show

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 1998 evinrude 115 (E115TLEND) No Power

even if you are a top speed person, you are still over propped, or have a sick motor, not turning 5500 at wot, cause the motor to lug at any other speed. the height of the motors AV plate to the keel of the boat can make a big difference.

also boat not sitting in water, does not mean that it could not be waterlogged. waterlogging is when the foam below the deck gets saturated with water, there has been as much as 1,000 lbs of wet foam taken out of boats.

 

[Canadian boater]

Re: 1998 evinrude 115 (E115TLEND) No Power

ok thanks i'll try dropping a prop size or 2.. now you've lost me with the AV plate, what should it be ? the motor is sitting down tight on the top of the transom.. thats all i know, i'm new to out boards, all my other boats have been I/O's

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 1998 evinrude 115 (E115TLEND) No Power

CB- What kind of boat is that? My 600# low profile speedboat would hit 50+ with a 115HP Merc w/21" pitch prop. I expect you should see close to that performance as well. J/E gear ratios are lower than Mercs, so you are probably overpropped, by two or three inches of pitch.

Motor should be mounted on transom so the antiventilation plate (your I/Os all had them too) are even or a bit above the bottom of the hull. Put a piece of 5/4" lumber under the transom bracket to lift the motor a bit, if it is too low. You may need to experiment, since sometimes you can trim the motor more at a lower transom height setting, for best performance.

I don't expect 60+MPH, as that takes a lot of power. You do need to get your motor to 5200 RPM minimum at WOT, with moderate trim, 5500 with max trim.

Don't blow it up!

 

[Canadian boater]

Re: 1998 evinrude 115 (E115TLEND) No Power

ok I've tried a 17 pitch prop, the rpms are there but its even slower than before, i can get my 5500 out of it at a whopping 32mph, i think i'm gonna solve the problem by having it torn down again and start from scratch. apparently the guy who built it the first time didn't do it right. i'm really getting tired of being passed on the lake by paddle boats. thanks for your help guys, hopefully someday i can help you.

 

[jason915]

Re: 1998 evinrude 115 (E115TLEND) No Power

ok I've tried a 17 pitch prop, the rpms are there but its even slower than before, i can get my 5500 out of it at a whopping 32mph, i think i'm gonna solve the problem by having it torn down again and start from scratch. apparently the guy who built it the first time didn't do it right. i'm really getting tired of being passed on the lake by paddle boats. thanks for your help guys, hopefully someday i can help you.

WOW, acording to a prop slip calc your slip is 27% that's like a heavy tugboat. with a 17p prop at 5500 you should be at a minimum of 40MPH. How's your holeshot? Your boat may be a lot heavier than you think, like mentioned above water soaked foam?

 

[Canadian boater]

Re: 1998 evinrude 115 (E115TLEND) No Power

just an update for everyone. i went back to my 18 pitch ss prop and was just trying to get the weekend out of it... i was running down the lake wide open 4500 rpm 40 mph, and all of a sudden it just took off like a scared rabbit and its been a rocket ship ever since... all i can think of is i had a sticky reed valve...
any thoughts??

 

[Canadian boater]

Re: 1998 evinrude 115 (E115TLEND) No Power

runs awesome now, 54mph on gps at about 5800 rpm.. i know thats a little high, i might try a 19 pitch now that has all kinds of power..

 

[wilde1j]

Re: 1998 evinrude 115 (E115TLEND) No Power

5800 is right where that motor should be @ WOT. Leave it there!

 

[Canadian boater]

Re: 1998 evinrude 115 (E115TLEND) No Power

whats the absolute highest that motor will rev? sometimes if i go to full trim it'll rev 6 ish, 6100, i just don't want put a rod thru the side of it...

 

[iwombat]

Re: 1998 evinrude 115 (E115TLEND) No Power

There really isn't a redline per se, but up in the mid 6ks they won't flow right w/o some hi-perf parts and bigger carbs. 6.1k is just fine - enjoy the boat.


---

My guess is that you had some gunk in a main jet and running fuel through it cleaned it out. It's rare, but sometimes we get lucky that way.

 

[wilde1j]

Re: 1998 evinrude 115 (E115TLEND) No Power

Trim for max speed, NOT RPM.

 

[Canadian boater]

Re: 1998 evinrude 115 (E115TLEND) No Power

right on thanks, i live on a small lake anyways so my wide open bursts are just short... 10, 15 seconds at a time.. it gets a little snakey any longer than that. thanks again everyone, been a big help.