crackedglass
Petty Officer 1st Class
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2009
- Messages
- 203
Hi, first post here, signed up after reading here for a few weeks.
I've been looking around for a good used 50HP Evinrude for some time now with little luck finding much else but junk.
I answered a Craigslist ad for what was described as a low hours, mid 70's 50hp Johnson for a really fair price, (read as: 'In my price range'). I emailed the guy and went to see the motor. It was still on his boat, in a boat house. The first thing he said was let's take it out for a spin first. He lowered the boat into the water and it started almost instantly, even though it was downright cold out and the motor was cold to the touch, and off we went. The motor ran perfect, sounded good, and looks almost new. It's not a mid 70's motor but an '85 model, (J50ELCOA). The boat it was on was similar to mine, so I got a good idea of how it would pull my boat. We went back, hoisted the boat and I got as good of a look at the motor as I could with the boat hanging on the sling above the water. (I wasn't going to risk falling in the lake water either).
The first thing I noticed was good sized chip off the skeg, a chunk missing from the rearward tip about 3" round, but other than that it looks like it's seen very liittle use. The price is very right, but I said I wanted to check compression first, if that was alright, I'd take it. He said I could do that the when he gets it back to his garage the next day.
I returned the next evening, he had the motor off the boat on a stand with the controls and oil tank attached. I brought my compression gauge and plug wrench. He insisted on doing the check himself, which was fine by me since I hadn't bought it yet. He had a battery hooked up, and the fuel line unhooked. He pulled both plugs, shot some oil in and installed the tester in the top cylinder. He had a remote starter trigger which he attached to the starter directly. He cranked each cylinder til the gauge stopped increasing, about 10 cranks each. The results were 156/152 psi. I accounted for some of the reading to the fresh shot of oil but I was glad to see he didn't crank it dry. All other wires were connected when he cranked the engine, with the key in the off position.
Happy with the compression, I said I'd like to hear it run again out of the water up close if it were possible, he said he wanted to run it anyhow to clear out the cylinders after the check anyhow. He rolled the homemade stand over to the garage door, ran a hose outside from his kitchen sink, attached a pair of ears, hooked up the fuel line, primed the bulb and proceeded to try to start the motor. It would crank but would no start, no spark. The controls and harness were attached, fuel line on, oil line on, both oil and fuel lines primed, but no spark. He even tried another controler he had there with no change. It somehow lost it's spark either in the process of removal from the boat or in checking the compression. The fuel tank was the same one it ran on the day before in the boat.
After he spent at least two hours fooling with it with no result, he pretty much told me he'd call me once he got it right. Not wanting to make the drive again, I asked him for a bottom line, and that I'd take it as is if the price was right, my thinking was that even if it's only a parts motor, I will most likely end up with one just like it on my boat anyhow, and besides, it has a brand new SS prop, mint controls, and looks like new.
To end a long story, I got it right, pretty much the cost of the new prop.
Motor, prop, controls, two fuel tanks, oil tank, hoses, two gallons of oil, two aluminum spare props, and keys, pretty much everything to set it up on my boat.
Now for the questions:
What are the chances that something got fried electronically doing the compression test? Where do I start?
It looks to be completely untouched from the factory, no rotted wires, no added wires etc.
The compression is good, it ran perfect on the sea test, I drove it for a good hour or more. It started from a cold start the day before after only a couple of cranks after priming the fuel bulbs, and it the compression is pretty much perfect from what I saw. (It was my compression gauge whick I trust). Besides, he had a new or near new Yamaha four stroke hanging on the boat already when I got there that next day, a much larger motor, so I can see why he was upgrading. I don't feel he was dumping a problem motor. If he could afford a new shiny motor, he most likely didn't value the old one very much anyhow. I don't ever see me spending that kind of cash on a boat motor. Not so long as I can hunt down good used ones cheap.
Next; What about the broken skeg? There's enough gone to need attention, it's missing nearly a quarter of the entire skeg. Can this be welded without a complete teardown? Should it be welded that way?
I've seen the glue on plastic of composite skegs but they cost as much as having this welded and make right again so long as I don't have to tear down the lower unit and reseal everything.
Then, if I get it welded, do I buy a whole new skeg and get that welded on, or do I just have the old one built back up and reshape it from there? I am leaning towards building up whats there, mainly to keep the heat as far from the main bearing case as possible. I can grind and reshape it well enough myself. There's about an inch of the total lower edge gone and about a 2" bite on top of that gone behind the prop in the rear lower corner. The prop and all the spare props are pretty clean, nothing that would lead me to believe it took any one big hit. It looks like gradual damage to me, a little bit gone at a time.
I've been looking around for a good used 50HP Evinrude for some time now with little luck finding much else but junk.
I answered a Craigslist ad for what was described as a low hours, mid 70's 50hp Johnson for a really fair price, (read as: 'In my price range'). I emailed the guy and went to see the motor. It was still on his boat, in a boat house. The first thing he said was let's take it out for a spin first. He lowered the boat into the water and it started almost instantly, even though it was downright cold out and the motor was cold to the touch, and off we went. The motor ran perfect, sounded good, and looks almost new. It's not a mid 70's motor but an '85 model, (J50ELCOA). The boat it was on was similar to mine, so I got a good idea of how it would pull my boat. We went back, hoisted the boat and I got as good of a look at the motor as I could with the boat hanging on the sling above the water. (I wasn't going to risk falling in the lake water either).
The first thing I noticed was good sized chip off the skeg, a chunk missing from the rearward tip about 3" round, but other than that it looks like it's seen very liittle use. The price is very right, but I said I wanted to check compression first, if that was alright, I'd take it. He said I could do that the when he gets it back to his garage the next day.
I returned the next evening, he had the motor off the boat on a stand with the controls and oil tank attached. I brought my compression gauge and plug wrench. He insisted on doing the check himself, which was fine by me since I hadn't bought it yet. He had a battery hooked up, and the fuel line unhooked. He pulled both plugs, shot some oil in and installed the tester in the top cylinder. He had a remote starter trigger which he attached to the starter directly. He cranked each cylinder til the gauge stopped increasing, about 10 cranks each. The results were 156/152 psi. I accounted for some of the reading to the fresh shot of oil but I was glad to see he didn't crank it dry. All other wires were connected when he cranked the engine, with the key in the off position.
Happy with the compression, I said I'd like to hear it run again out of the water up close if it were possible, he said he wanted to run it anyhow to clear out the cylinders after the check anyhow. He rolled the homemade stand over to the garage door, ran a hose outside from his kitchen sink, attached a pair of ears, hooked up the fuel line, primed the bulb and proceeded to try to start the motor. It would crank but would no start, no spark. The controls and harness were attached, fuel line on, oil line on, both oil and fuel lines primed, but no spark. He even tried another controler he had there with no change. It somehow lost it's spark either in the process of removal from the boat or in checking the compression. The fuel tank was the same one it ran on the day before in the boat.
After he spent at least two hours fooling with it with no result, he pretty much told me he'd call me once he got it right. Not wanting to make the drive again, I asked him for a bottom line, and that I'd take it as is if the price was right, my thinking was that even if it's only a parts motor, I will most likely end up with one just like it on my boat anyhow, and besides, it has a brand new SS prop, mint controls, and looks like new.
To end a long story, I got it right, pretty much the cost of the new prop.
Motor, prop, controls, two fuel tanks, oil tank, hoses, two gallons of oil, two aluminum spare props, and keys, pretty much everything to set it up on my boat.
Now for the questions:
What are the chances that something got fried electronically doing the compression test? Where do I start?
It looks to be completely untouched from the factory, no rotted wires, no added wires etc.
The compression is good, it ran perfect on the sea test, I drove it for a good hour or more. It started from a cold start the day before after only a couple of cranks after priming the fuel bulbs, and it the compression is pretty much perfect from what I saw. (It was my compression gauge whick I trust). Besides, he had a new or near new Yamaha four stroke hanging on the boat already when I got there that next day, a much larger motor, so I can see why he was upgrading. I don't feel he was dumping a problem motor. If he could afford a new shiny motor, he most likely didn't value the old one very much anyhow. I don't ever see me spending that kind of cash on a boat motor. Not so long as I can hunt down good used ones cheap.
Next; What about the broken skeg? There's enough gone to need attention, it's missing nearly a quarter of the entire skeg. Can this be welded without a complete teardown? Should it be welded that way?
I've seen the glue on plastic of composite skegs but they cost as much as having this welded and make right again so long as I don't have to tear down the lower unit and reseal everything.
Then, if I get it welded, do I buy a whole new skeg and get that welded on, or do I just have the old one built back up and reshape it from there? I am leaning towards building up whats there, mainly to keep the heat as far from the main bearing case as possible. I can grind and reshape it well enough myself. There's about an inch of the total lower edge gone and about a 2" bite on top of that gone behind the prop in the rear lower corner. The prop and all the spare props are pretty clean, nothing that would lead me to believe it took any one big hit. It looks like gradual damage to me, a little bit gone at a time.
