89 Tracker Evinrude 40 Hp ; prop or engine?

[badasselectric]

I am new here and have learned alot from all<br />of the posts related to my problem. Thanks<br /><br /> Now for my problem, I just bought this 89 Tracker pro deep v 17 with with 40 hp evinrude. The boat had spent most of its life in a garage.<br />It came with 2 props and a story. the props a 15 and a 17 were both replacements. The previous owner told me the boat used to perform better with the original prop but he wiped it out several years back and did not know the pitch. It had the 15 on it when I took it to the lake. It started and ran well. It had a little trouble idling,but with wot I could only get 3400rpm and about 24mph. Idle was about 600rpm and it would occasionaly die. No matter what I did against the wind , with the wind I couldn't get more than 3400rpm. I was thinking of trying a pitch of 11 to get to about 5500rpm. But I started wondering if some kind of control on the engine could be holding the rpm's down (apparently it will do that to prevent engine damage). <br /> Does anyone know what prop this package came with originally? <br /> Is there anything on the engine that can hold the rpm's down?<br /> Any info. or just gut feelings will be greatly appreciated.<br /> <br /> Thanks,

 

[JB]

Re: 89 Tracker Evinrude 40 Hp ; prop or engine?

Howdy, BAE.<br /><br />If I were propping that boat/engine I would start with a 15, but 3400 WOT is far too slow.<br /><br />You may have a boat problem. A dirty hull can kill you for WOT.<br /><br />More likely you have an engine problem. Could be running on one cylinder or making power with only one. Compression check and inspect plugs.<br /><br />Could be way off on the link 'n' synch or simply not opening throttle all the way.<br /><br />Get a manual and check it out. Let us know what you find.<br /><br />Good luck.

 

[badasselectric]

Re: 89 Tracker Evinrude 40 Hp ; prop or engine?

Checked the plugs they looked clean and almost new. There was a little carbon on the pistons. I thought I would add I am running the boat at 5000 feet elevation.

 

[JB]

Re: 89 Tracker Evinrude 40 Hp ; prop or engine?

Plugs look like new, huh? That suggests water in the cylinders, BAE.<br /><br />May be a blown head gasket. Do the compression check.<br /><br />There is a chart somewhere that suggests high speed jet changes for altitude. It seems unlikely to me that altitude is your whole problem, but it might be contributing.<br /><br />Good luck.

 

[JimmyDeb]

Re: 89 Tracker Evinrude 40 Hp ; prop or engine?

heya its me from other post-----i just happen to have the orig prop right here under my pc desk!!!its been busted as was givin to me with the boat--its a ---11-3/4 x 17 and is not a cupped prop...the one they replaced it with is same but it is cupped I was told the cupped prop offers more high end perfomance!?!hope you get your running good!

 

[JB]

Re: 89 Tracker Evinrude 40 Hp ; prop or engine?

?????<br /><br />What are you talking about, Jimmy?

 

[badasselectric]

Re: 89 Tracker Evinrude 40 Hp ; prop or engine?

JB, Jimmy is talking about his 90 Tracker Pro Deep V 17' with a 40 HP Johnson. Can you tell me if the gear ratios are the same on these outboards? This is making me lean hard toward engine problems. Thanks

 

[JimmyDeb]

Re: 89 Tracker Evinrude 40 Hp ; prop or engine?

I bought a clymer manual and all i can see is that the 89/90 motors seem to be the same...really cant tell ya much more than that.This was all new to me as this is my first boat.everything i did to my boat i learned something new!Wish ya luck and will help all i can.

 

[badasselectric]

Re: 89 Tracker Evinrude 40 Hp ; prop or engine?

I decided to go back to basics, since I don't have a compression tester. I started with the fuel primer bulb and line. You could hear a faint squeak and it would squeeze down about half way. Next I had a small oil leak coming from the bottom of the VRO where a cheap plastic snap clamp had broken off. I could see it but I couldn't reach it, and there were way to many hoses coming out of that VRO at first glance to risk mixing them up. I let it sit for a while and built up some courage, then went for it. After digging in it wasn't that complicated but all of the hoses were really hard and practically welded in place. So I decided to change every rubber hose on the engine. With the VRO out of the way and all of the hoses off I decided to pull the carbs and clean them out. I didn't find anything suspicious in them, but gave them a thorough cleaning. The only adjustment screw in the carbs was set at 2 turns out, so that was where I reset them as I am still waiting for my manual. I did not mess with any linkage settings, but did check to see the carbs were opening fully at WOT position. I took the plugs into the loal shop and they said that they look fine no tell tale signs of anything. I regapped them from .032 to .030 I wasn't sure how much difference that would make. I also changed the fuel filter when I was changing hoses although it wasn't restricted. After all of that I took it to the lake and had the same trouble except for the primer bulb which now stays hard. It did go up to 3600rpm with just me in the boat. I had 2 other people in it when I tried it before. Is there anything I can check on the timing while I am waiting for my manual?

 

[whosmatt]

Re: 89 Tracker Evinrude 40 Hp ; prop or engine?

at what altitude was the previous owner running? motors will run richer at higher altitudes, and if he was running near sea level you may need to re-jet the carbs. someone else can tell you more specifics, but you did mention that you were running at 5000 ft. search this board for "altitude" and you will find more info.

 

[NathanY]

Re: 89 Tracker Evinrude 40 Hp ; prop or engine?

If I had to make a guess, since the motor is running OK, I would say that you are overpropped.

 

[badasselectric]

Re: 89 Tracker Evinrude 40 Hp ; prop or engine?

The boat is from this area and it is less than an hour to sea level or 8000' depending on which way you go. I did look at the altitude posts and am wishing now that I would have looked to see what size the jets were when I had the carbs apart. Damn.

 

[badasselectric]

Re: 89 Tracker Evinrude 40 Hp ; prop or engine?

I did the compression test, both cylinders were right at 130 psi. If I can get a timing light I want to check my timing as the OMC guru described in another post. I'll keep you posted.

 

[badasselectric]

Re: 89 Tracker Evinrude 40 Hp ; prop or engine?

Got my manual,and a timing light. Checked timing and found it was 3 deg. to far advanced. I set it per the manual. The manual also called for .040 spark plug gap, so I regapped those. I checked the sync. per the manual and it was fine. I also installed CMC power tilt and trim unit. I took it to the lake and it was running at 3500 rpm at WOT. When I trimmed up I was able to get up to 3900 rpm and 28 mph. I am really thinking of getting a 11" prop to try to pick up about another 1000 rpm. Any input anyone?

 

[rudeafrican]

Re: 89 Tracker Evinrude 40 Hp ; prop or engine?

Nah badasselectric, <br /><br />the original prop this motor shipped with is 11.3/4 by 17. I run 2 of these babies on my 16.5 ft deep V. You might be slightly under powered here. Your compression is good. Might pay you to check out those carbs again. Soak them overnight in carb cleaner and replace all gaskets and seals.<br />While carbs off, check condition of reed valves. Also check that your timing advance plate under the flywheel is not sticking and advances fully.<br /><br />The plug gap MUST be .030 as per my manual and everybody else's advise on this board.<br /><br />You stated that once you trimmed her out, rpm's increased, is the motor set up correctly for your transom height? Cavitation plate within 1" of the bottom of the hull?<br /><br />Only once you are 100% sure that the motor is running as it should, can you start playing with your setup ie prop, trim, motor height etc. Guys like JB, Dhadley, Joe Reeves, Clanton etc know what they are talking about. Try their advise and always report back what happened. That way people will eventually get to the bottom of your problem.

 

[61cats]

Re: 89 Tracker Evinrude 40 Hp ; prop or engine?

just looking at post as a caution do not use ordinary carb cleaner use omc brand carb cleaner due to the fact that aluminum carbs have a special coating on them that odinary carb cleaner will strip off and gas will soak through the pours of alluminum causing a drip

 

[badasselectric]

Re: 89 Tracker Evinrude 40 Hp ; prop or engine?

News Flash-----from previous owner.<br />He had the boat in the shop twice for the low rpm problem. Both times the local shop said there was nothing wrong with it. Does anyone know of any good shops for evinrudes around Sacramento,CA.

 

[JB]

Re: 89 Tracker Evinrude 40 Hp ; prop or engine?

I still think one cylinder is not making power.<br /><br />Did you inspect the reeds?<br /><br />Have you pulled plug wires to see if rpm drops for both?<br /><br />Have you inspected the ports for carbon clogging? How about exhaust restrictions?<br /><br />Find a shop that has a dynamometer and get them to run her up on it. If it makes 40 to 50hp at 5500-6000rpm there is something bad with your boat.<br /><br />Let us know what you find.

 

[badasselectric]

Re: 89 Tracker Evinrude 40 Hp ; prop or engine?

What am I looking for to check the reed valves. I know where they are,but what am I looking for that would indicate bad valves. I have a Seloc manual and I feel like I just flushed $40.00 down the toilet. I am going to pull carbs down again and soak them. I am thinking of rebuilding my VRO while I'm at it.

 

[rudeafrican]

Re: 89 Tracker Evinrude 40 Hp ; prop or engine?

The Seloc's not that bad!<br /><br />For the reeds just check that none of them are bent open or broken.<br /><br />When rebuilding the VRO ( which I think is a good idea anyhow) make sure that you order both kits, 1 for the fuel and oil pumps and 1 kit for the air motor. When tearing it down make notes or video where each o-ring goes, which way up a small part goes etc. Work carefully and slowly and it's a piece of cake. When installing the hoses, prime the oil bulb to dispell any air from oil line.<br /><br />Once refitted, run on premix, 50:1, untill you are sure the oil level in oil tank is dropping, thus ensuring oil supply.<br /><br />Just a bit of patience and dilligence will get her running sweetly again.