Reed plate

[mattjeanes]

1974 15hp Evinrude.<br />I've removed the reed plate and found that I've got a 5 thou gap between one reed pair and the plate. The problem appears to be the plate not the reeds so I'm intending to use some wet and dry on a piece of glass to flatten the plate. At the moment I am unable to do this as there is a protrusion on the plate that is preventing me from laying it flat. It appears to be some kind of breather valve made of either brass or plastic. Is it possible to remove this? I'm afraid to try too hard without knowledge as it looks like the kind of thing that is easy to break. <br />Any wisdom gratefully received!

 

[OBJ]

Re: Reed plate

Hi Matt. That protrusion is a check valve. Drains off any fuel mix from the upper reed chamber that may lay there. It should just pop out.<br /><br />I'd be real careful about "flattening" the reed plate. If you look at the finish on the plate you'll see its rough. My understanding is that its rough so the reeds won't stick to it. I've never seen this happen but it's in the manual. Are ya' sure the plate is warped? A flat edge will tell you. <br /><br />Was there any blow back through the carb when running? Might consider a set of Boyesen Reeds. There cheap enough for 9.9/15's.

 

[mattjeanes]

Re: Reed plate

Thanks for the advice - the valve did pop out (eventually).<br />Being fairly certain that the plate was warped I used some 120 grit wet and dry to flatten it without polishing it. Once I had finished I put a few scratchs in with some 60 grit to try and recreate the original rough surface. <br />The reeds now sit much better with only the tiniest of gap between the reeds and plate. I'll post an update when it's all back together and I've seen how it runs.

 

[mattjeanes]

Re: Reed plate

All back together and idle is significantly improved!