no water.. running poorly..

[floatingwoody2006]

well.. I tried to barrel fire my 1971 evinrude 18hp yesterday. I have thouroughly cleaned the carbs, and rebuilt the fuel pump. I also changed the impellor, but im wondering if i should have just left it alone.. I pumped the bulb until i heard gas going into the carbs.. 1st time i have heard it run at all so i was pleased.. However.. it skipped terrible, needed to be full throttle to run at all at very low rpm's, and i realized after 30 seconds or so.. No water from the "pee hole". Is it possible that when the lower unit slides back up to miss the water tube?.. That would explain the no water thing, but it was reeeally running rough. Air leak somewhere possibly? how would i check for a blown head gasket?.. I do have a seloc manual, but it covers 6 thru 40 horse, and in my opinion was poorly written for the novice. any advice is appreciated.. Thanks

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: no water.. running poorly..

Hi FW2006,<br /> It is quite easy to miss seating the water tube into the rubber grommet on top of the waterpump impeller. Best to have a long, thin screwdriver and a pen light to help see what's going on as you slide them back together. <br /> Did you look at the ignition at all? Being that it's skipping terribly, it could be any number of things. Most coils from that era seem to age well, so the problem is more than likely with the condensers or points. Start with the points - clean them thoroughly and gap a .020 with the rider part of the points aligned with the keyway on the crankshaft.<br /> Also, have you done a compression test? Low compression in one cylinder may result in the symptoms you described. A blown head gasket usually manifests itself with steam in the exhaust and water beads on the plugs. Since you're not yet pumping water, those things won't happen yet. A compession test may show it, though.<br /> One other thing, running in a bucket often results in some degree of rough running due to exhaust being sucked back into the motor. However, it's not likely to cause skipping....<br /><br />- Scott

 

[Silvertip]

Re: no water.. running poorly..

How about the idle mixture setting? If that's not set right it will not idle. If it didn't have a blown head gasket before, it won't have one now just because did some unrelated work.

 

[floatingwoody2006]

Re: no water.. running poorly..

Theres only the low speed idle on top of the carb that i can see.. The high speed is sealed in the bowl and not adjustable i believe. I have seated the low speed gently, then out again 1 1/2 turns as reccomended on this site. The motor is new to me this year. It was neglected for sure..but i believe it can run again. As chinewalker suggested, i should do a comp. test im sure.. Just didn't want to buy a tool i wouldn't use but once. I wouldn't know where to start to look at points, but my poorly written manual may be of help with that. What does one clean points with.. an emery board? oh.. and does this thing have a thermostat?

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: no water.. running poorly..

Hi FW2006,<br /> Yes, your motor has a thermostat. It is located under the cover on top of the cylinder head, held in place by three bolts. <br /> If you're planning on owning a boat now or in the future, then a compression gauge is well worth the $20-$25 investment from Sears or NAPA. I bring mine any time I am going to look at a motor and it has saved me much money over the years. A quick test can turn a $1000 motor into a $200 motor in a hurry, or save you from buying it at all.<br /> The points are located under the flywheel. You'll need a three-point harmonic puller to get the flywheel off. It will need 1/4"x20 bolts, preferably grade 8. They have the pullers at Sears, NAPA, etc. May be referred to as harmonic balancer pullers. Do not use a puller that pulls on the outer rim of the flywheel - use the three holes near the center.<br />- Scott

 

[floatingwoody2006]

Re: no water.. running poorly..

very informative chinewalker.. a compression tester is an underrated tool i guess. On my way to get one tonight. I will post results and see if any additional advice is provided.. As always you guys are awesome. Im assuming that a bad thermostat wouldnt cause this issue as the local mechanic suggested..

 

[floatingwoody2006]

Re: no water.. running poorly..

Compression test was a respectable 116, 120. Everytime i think about cashing this one in, something looks good about it. It even fired and ran like 10 seconds on one cylander from remaining gas in the carb when i did the test.discovered the kill switch was disconnected at that point. I have concerns about unburned gas that seems to be leaking from the lower unit.. I will post pics of that and a missing screw when i get a chance..

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: no water.. running poorly..

Those are very good numbers. The engine is healthy and the head gasket is likely intact.<br /><br />If you keep on pumping away on the primer, does it ever get hard like it's supposed to? Or does fuel start flooding from the carb?<br /><br />(They must have exported all the old, crumbly ignition coils to the Johnson plant in Ontario. Around here, 70s era engines' ignition coils are no different from the '60s or '50s. )

 

[floatingwoody2006]

Re: no water.. running poorly..

primer gets hard and stays hard..(can i say that here?) .. well if i keep pumping it, i can hear the gas going into the carb. Is that a good thing? compression checks out ok.. I can start looking at other issues now i guess. I owe you guys a cold one if this makes the water this year..

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: no water.. running poorly..

Yeah, well they have to make some allowances. Not long ago we couldn't say "petcock". <br /><br />When the carb is full, you should stop hearing any noises when you pump the primer no matter how hard you squeeze. It shuts off like a toilet tank.<br />If you're continuing to hear & see things, that must be corrected. Make sure it isn't your fuel pump by unbolting it from the engine. If fuel doesn't come out the hole in the back when you pump, it's fine. <br /><br />Are you fairly confident you got the needle and seat in the carb correctly, and the float is adjusted properly? Was there any evidence of wear on the needle? Perhaps a little bit of crud came out of the fuel line and is holding the needle & seat open.

 

[floatingwoody2006]

Re: no water.. running poorly..

there was a new needle with the carb kit. i did adjust the float to specs that came with the kit. I will definately test my fuel pump that way.. I suspected it since i took it apart to clean it and disassembled it a little too far. See ive learned 3 new things to get running all in one post. This forum should be given an award of some sort..