Fastwin 18 - Looks like I have some work to do....

[LostOmen]

Well, yesterday I became the proud owner of my first boat! With it came 2 Evinrude 18HP Fastwin motors. One (I believe a 1966) definitley runs, but not very well. It runs pretty well at mid range RPM, but will pop every so often and lose power. It smokes and smells rich, it shakes, it dies at idle, it won't shift right, and I can't turn the throttle enough to get the top half of the powerband. (Among other things for a different time) The second is a 1962 (I think) and I was told it was good for parts. It's not seized, so I think it has some potential, but I really haven't investigated it much. It looks to me as if it's in much better shape than the other one. I still haven't decided which motor I'm going to take on. I'd like to get them both running nicely someday.

Anyway, I've read up a little on some of the stickys and FAQ's and I'm going to grab a repair manual, a carb rebuild kit, check the lower end lubrication to start with. I'm sure I'll have a lot of questions along the way. Thanks for your help in advance!

Oh BTW, are these Fastwins good, reliable motors?

Jake

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: Fastwin 18 - Looks like I have some work to do....

The Fastwin 18's are very good motors, once they have been gone through and brought up to speed with some maintainance.
The first thing to get is the original OEM Evinrude repair manual for the motor.
The next thing is to check the cylinder compression on the motor(s). That will tell you if the motor is mechanically sound.
Check to see if it shifts in and out of gear. Drain the lower unit gear oil to see if there is water (or even oil) in it.
Get a spark tester from the auto parts store to check the spark. Plan on having to pull the flywheel using a harmonic balancer puller and 1/4-20 shoulder bolts. The harmonic balancer puller is also available at the parts store.
I usually replace the points, condensers, coils, plug wires/boots and spark plugs if I don't know when the last time they were replaced. If you replace all of that, you won't have to touch the ignition for 10 years, except to change the plugs.
The water pump impeller will definitely need to be replaced if you don't know how old it is.
The last item that you would mess with, after the spark and compression are made good, is the carb. It may need to be disassembled and soaked in cleaner and rebuilt with a carb kit. If it has a cork float in the carb, that needs to be replace with a plastic one.

I tend to replace alot up front and get the motor running perfectly, instead of just fixing only what is obviously broken, and running it until the next thing breaks.

 

[rjezuit]

Re: Fastwin 18 - Looks like I have some work to do....

The Fastwins are some of the best Evinrude ever made. They started out at 15HP, went to 18, then 20 then to 25. Good, reliable motors that are light for their horsepower. I have a '56 that runs like the day it was new. Starts with 1 pull consistently. It sat in a guy's basement for 14 years, I replaced the water pump last year when I fisrt got it and the full ignition system over the winter. The ignition (coils) were original and I replaced them as a preventative measure. Runs like a champ. Rick

 

[david_r]

Re: Fastwin 18 - Looks like I have some work to do....

[QUOTE

Oh BTW, are these Fastwins good, reliable motors?[/QUOTE]

i have a '64 18hp evin fastwin and its a great little motor.

i agree with tx1961whaler on everything, except i would clean and rebuild the carb fisrt (after comp and spark test come back good) and make sure shes running satisfactorily before i spent too much money on the extras.

if your like me you may not have the extra dough to do everything you would like to do. i do preventive maintanence and buy the extras when i get ahead.....one piece at a time (course i have 2 alluminum and 1 bass boats all with their own motors so the old lady fits when i start takin one apart just to fix something that aint broke).

also check and make sure your timer base isnt sticking and that its moving all the way to the wot (wide open throttle) stop.

good luck and i hope she works out for you!

p.s. this is a great forum and there is a lot of great advice and help on here so buy a manual and read other threads......even ask questions and you can learn a lot from here.

 

[LostOmen]

Re: Fastwin 18 - Looks like I have some work to do....

Thanks for the advice and assurance! I guess I'll test for compression before I decide which one to fix up first. I'm gonna grab a manual next week and get started. Hopefully I can get it done in time to get some good fall time fishing in!

 

[LostOmen]

Re: Fastwin 18 - Looks like I have some work to do....

Well, the compression tests came back pretty good on the currently running motor (100 top and 105 bottom). I got a nice spark off the top cylinder, but I couldn't see one on the lower. The other motor's compression was 80 and 40. We'll just call that the "parts motor" for now.

I drained the lube from the lower unit, and it was white and milky. But the oil from the lower unit on the parts motor had just a little water in it. Are the lower units on a 1966 and a 1963 interchangeable?

I also need to swap the powerheads as there are cracks near the motor base. Again, I ask "Are these interchangeable?" The numbers on the lower unit/shaft/motor mount/tiller assembly (pardon my lack of the proper term) are 18304AE 0006220.

Sorry for the long post. Thanks for your help!

Edit: I am ordering an ignition kit, carb kit, impeller kit, coils, head gasket, and a Seloc manual tomorrow.....let the fun begin!

 

[asdasc]

Re: Fastwin 18 - Looks like I have some work to do....

I am knee deep in fixing up the Johnson version of your motors. The thing runs great, but I have to rebuild the lower unit because it leaks water into the gear oil. I put all the money into the top half, same as you described you are doing. It was pretty easy! There is a great write up on here somewhere about how to do it and time it. Maybe one of the guys who knows the site better can find it for you. I found it once by accident.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: Fastwin 18 - Looks like I have some work to do....

I have many 18's and love em. Recently had a '66 Evinrude 18 and probably will be getting it back soon. I got 36.7kmh with it on a 14' aluminum boat.

Most of the 18 parts are interchangable, especially the LU's. 80 and 40 lbs is definitely a parts engine, it's not usually worth the time and effort to re-hone the cylinders unless it's a winter restoration.

I also agree with david_r as I have several boats and engines in the water at the same time and I cant fix everything on all of them. I wait till it needs it. But if I only had 1 engine I might go crazy on it but I have over 30. Since you have good compression, get good spark (I usually just change the coils and clean the points), carb kit, impeller and then run her...

 

[Ed_Gusslesnapper]

Re: Fastwin 18 - Looks like I have some work to do....

Hey all,
I'm a lil new here, wondering if my Evi Fastwin 1966 18hp, drive/impeller shaft is compatible with any other year(or Johnson's?)
Broke it in my first trip on the Wabash River yesterday morning, found out, apparent now that my shear pin was stainless....?! Imagine that!