Captain Caveman
Ensign
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2005
- Messages
- 958
During fishing opener this spring, my 1979 Evinrude 35hp overheated and blew the gasket. The shop fixed it for me and said that there was no apparent cylinder damage. I got it back and struggled to get it running. It finally started and kept running. After putting along for 1/4 mile I hit the gas to get on plane. Almost immediately I thought I hit a log or rock. This happen three more times as I realized that the motor was somehow backfiring. This never happened again during that trip in May or since.
However, last week as the weather cooled again into the 40s and 50s, it started "backfiring" again. I quickly realized that if I putted along for a longer time when the engine was cold/first-used, it wouldn't backfire. It always worked fine after running for a while.
The "backfire" doesn't really have a sound like a car would make when it backfires. Each time it happens it feels like I just hit a log, meaning that the motor kicks causing the entire boat to shake. The sound is rather muted.
I'm fine with just letting the motor warm up longer before getting up on plane, but want to make sure that I'm not damaging the motor with each use. What is this backfire? Can I assume that it's related to the spring repairs?
I run my Evinrude on a 16.5' Fisher from 1985 with the OMC-specified prop and nothing else special. My loads vary from just me, to adding the wife, to four people and gear.
However, last week as the weather cooled again into the 40s and 50s, it started "backfiring" again. I quickly realized that if I putted along for a longer time when the engine was cold/first-used, it wouldn't backfire. It always worked fine after running for a while.
The "backfire" doesn't really have a sound like a car would make when it backfires. Each time it happens it feels like I just hit a log, meaning that the motor kicks causing the entire boat to shake. The sound is rather muted.
I'm fine with just letting the motor warm up longer before getting up on plane, but want to make sure that I'm not damaging the motor with each use. What is this backfire? Can I assume that it's related to the spring repairs?
I run my Evinrude on a 16.5' Fisher from 1985 with the OMC-specified prop and nothing else special. My loads vary from just me, to adding the wife, to four people and gear.
