1958 Evinrude starting/idling problem

ironmachineus

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May 30, 2006
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5
I have a '58 Evinrude Fast Twin 18. If I pour some gas into the carb silencer, I can get the engine to fire and idle roughly for 5-10 seconds. It won't continue to run, and it won't fire or start without pouring the gas in it. I have now rebuilt the carbs, cleaned out the filters and lines, changed the plugs, and it does the same thing. I have used two different pressure tanks, both of which work on my other motors, so those aren't the issue. What's going on here?
 

tashasdaddy

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Nov 11, 2005
Messages
51,019
Re: 1958 Evinrude starting/idling problem

when you rebuilt the carbs did you soak them for 24 hours, then blow them out with compressed air, reassemble with new carb kit? have you checked your compression? where have you got the low and high speed adjustments set? can you give any history on the motor. welcome to iboats. i have a '55 15 rude, what a dream engine.
 

rwise

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Jul 5, 2001
Messages
3,205
Re: 1958 Evinrude starting/idling problem

after priming and running for a few seconds, is there pressure in the tank? Is fuel getting into the carb? When you push the prime button does the filter fill with gas? stuck needle valve in the carb, plugged line, plugged filter, plugged carb passages, connector plugged, lines on wrong.<br /><br />The gas you use to prime with should be pre mix also.<br /><br />Welcome to iboats<br />Richard
 

ironmachineus

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May 30, 2006
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Re: 1958 Evinrude starting/idling problem

Carb soaked for over a day, airblow out, new kit. I've tried the needles in many different positions, including the 3/4 and 3/4 settings recommended in the manual. Tank has good pressure (i have two tanks, both of which work fine), fuel filter fills with gas when primed, hoses are new and the float bowl on the carb gets gas.
 

Chinewalker

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Aug 19, 2001
Messages
8,902
Re: 1958 Evinrude starting/idling problem

Did you get the gasket between the carb bowl center standpipe and the down pipe that houses the main jet? It's a thick cork gasket, and it's often overlooked. Try running it without the silencer in place so you can get a better idea of what it's doing. If you choke it, pull it over a few times and the carb throat is full of gas then you know it's drawing fuel. If no fuel in the throat then you've got an issue in the carb...<br />- Scott
 

Paul Moir

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Nov 5, 2002
Messages
6,847
Re: 1958 Evinrude starting/idling problem

One more question to add to the list. When you cleaned the carb did you remove the soft metal plug covering the idle orifaces and clean behind it? Do you still have a new one left over with the carb kit? It's slightly dome shaped.
 
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