Evinrude 55 some newbie questions

[ronsealdeath]

Hi there, I have recently bought my first boat and picked up a 1977 Evinrude 55 to power it. The engine has been sat a while I think as it is full of insect life under the cowl!
It has run pretty well really on the 4 outings we have gone on but has had stalling problems when I put it in gear on the water. In the tank it will sit in gear at low revs ok. Its seems ok when we first set off in gear as well but once its warmed up it likes to stall when it put it in forward. It fully crapped out on us the other day, it just suddenly died when going full throttle (had to paddle back to shore!). Had been running ok at higher revs until this happened, couldnt get it started again after that.
When it gets going at speed it runs smooth and has good power, gets our 14ft speedboat on the plain quite well.
It idles pretty rough and shakes about the place quite a lot. Plugs always seem a little wet and blackened. I rebuilt the fuel pump and cleaned it out and she is back running again but with rough idle still.
I am wondering whether to rebuild the carbs, do a seafoam treatment or similar or just try and clean the carbs up? Do I need to a rebuild kit to take the carbs apart and clean or can I just give that a go?
Any ideas on possible fixes? Is the rough idle a problem? By the way it gives a pressure reading of 95 psi each cylinder exactly from dead cold with no throttle.
Any help would be great as it will cost me ?50 ($75) to get rebuild kits for the carbs so I want to be sure its worth it first!
Cheers
Al

 

[dwco5051]

Re: Evinrude 55 some newbie questions

A carb rebuild is definitely in order. That price for the kits seems pretty high. Google the net for "Sierra 18-7042 Great Britain". I found a kit doing that for 9.71 pounds. About the same as you would pay from Iboats but without the time and expense of international shipping and duties. There is no easy fix for carbs that have sat as long as yours other than a complete rebuild and cleaning.

 

[Daviet]

Re: Evinrude 55 some newbie questions

If the engine has set for a period of time, you would probably better off to rebould the carbs. You might try and do a decarb if the engine will run well enough to do it.

 

[ronsealdeath]

Re: Evinrude 55 some newbie questions

Thanks for getting back so quick guys. I will get the carb kits and do the rebuild. I love tinkering (sometimes too much!) with mechanical stuff so I am looking forward to getting stuck in.
I have a manual which describes how to remove, disassemble and clean the carbs. I am a bit worried about adjusting things like idling screws etc... and have read somewhere that I need to get the carbs synched when I put them back on. Is this something I need to look out for when I take them off or are there any measurements I should note down?
cheers
Al

 

[ronsealdeath]

Re: Evinrude 55 some newbie questions

Well I have ended up ordering two carb kits from Florida for ?25 delivered. I tried some UK suppliers and cheapest quote was ?40 delivered! Lets hope I don't get stung on import duty etc..
I have done a de-carbon treatment on the motor using Redex fuel system cleaner. It is a carbon removal product but only comes in a pour in bottle. So I put it into a manual spray bottle and used half spraying into the throttle body at about half WOT and left engine to warm up. Lots of white smoke. Put the other half in the cylinders via spark plug holes. Left for 20 mins then run the engine up for 10 mins. I couldnt believe the crud that came out! Thick, black sludge. I put it in a barrel luckily as the mess would have been horrendous otherwise. Still, a lot ended up flowing down the road anyway Had to do some street cleaning with some detergent!
Hopefully this along with the carb kit will see her running a bit smoother and more reliable. I haven't re-checked pressure but judging by the amount of stuff that came out it must have improved slightly.
Will let you know how the carb re-build goes.

PS just picked up a suzuki prop this morning for ?3 from a car boot sale. After cleaning the dust off it is brand new . Its a 11.25 x 15 with a 17 pitch. Would this prop fit my 55 or shall I just sell it on to fund the proper prop?
Cheers
Al