starting an engine thats been sitting awhile

[john50]

hello again.. being that i got excellent advice on my last question here id figure i would ask another one. i have a 1983 evinrude 115 thats been sitting about 15 months. is there any precautions i should take before starting it. i plan on using a 30 gal. garbage can filled with water instead of the ear warmers. will there be any problem doing that. you guys have been alot of help to me over these last few months. thanks again

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: starting an engine thats been sitting awhile

There are a lot of things to look at with a engine that has been sitting idle for this long.<br />First, was it winterized when stopped being used? Was there any gas left in the engine? Does the lower unit have enough good grease in it? As far as starting it after sitting, thats no problem. The problem lies in how it was treated when put in storage.<br />To start, you need a good gas supply. Pump the ball up good and try to get it to run at idle at first.<br />Don't rev the motor. Give it time to get everything lubricated again.<br />After that, it's just a matter of getting it to the water and making sure it runs good under a load.<br />Put on boat, back boat in water and leave on trailer. Safest way to check motor.<br />Just my .02 worth.

 

[Navigator]

Re: starting an engine thats been sitting awhile

John50,<br /><br />You may also want to pull the plugs and give each cylinder a shot of wd40 to lubricate the piston walls for the initial start. <br /><br /> If it has trouble starting, a spray of wd40 in the carbs will act like starting fluid (which you should never use on a 2 stroke).<br /><br />Let 'er rip <br /><br />Nav

 

[bonitoman]

Re: starting an engine thats been sitting awhile

take a small plastic spray bottle and add 1 oz of two stroke oil and fill the rest up with gas. shake well and spray into spark plug holes with plugs removed. ground the end of each plug wire to the block. turn flywheel by hand while spraying into each plug hole.remove the front plastic cover in front of the carbs and spray into each carb a couple of squirts. now check your lower unit oil and change it.Once you do all these you can crank your engine over without the plugs in . Crank and choke for 5 seconds. Make sure your plugs leads are still gounded. Make sure the engine is on a flusher or in a lake. This will let you know if your impellar is pumping water after cranking. you should see water trickling out of the pee hole.Once you do all this, you are ready to put the plugs in and start. You will probably want to clean the carbs ,change the thermostat and water pump after it has been running for a few minutes.Good luck