History:
I have a 1981 Evinrude 90hp motor that ran fine for a couple years. Just recently it started to exhibat a problem where I could hear an audible noise (clacking sound) at high speeds cominig from the motor. It seemed to shift fine between F/N/R so I continued to use the motor with caution. Last fall when I winterized the motor I drained the gear oil from the lower end and I did notice a bit of fillings on the magnet. So I removed the lower end to see it up close and also replace the impeller. After inspecting the impeller and seeing it looked fine I checked the operation of the shift rod. The prop moved in both directions fine without any audible noises. I re-installed the unit and put it back in the water. The motor shifted fine and the noise was actually gone (or at least I thought) for the first couple trips. I then started to hear the noise come back.
Then the big one hit! The motor would start out quite then a low audible clicking noise started and got louder and all of a suddent a click sound and no more noise. Like it just found it's sweet spot and ran nice a smooth. It did this repeatedly with about 20 seconds of no clicking sounds in between. Then all hell broke out and the motor popped out of forward - well the shifter didn't move just the motor decided to pop out on it's own and make a grinding type sound. I right away pulled it into neutral and the motor continued to idle fine. After a tow back to the dock I decided to start it again and test the shifter. I could only put it into reverse and it moved fine (no noise). The shifter would not go to forward and I felt a strong resistance in the shifter when I moved the thoutle.
Any suggestions on my next steps?
As it stands now:
I have the boat out of the water and will be drainig the lower end to examine for metal filings.
As a bonus - I located the same motor (one year newer) with a blown cyclinder for $300.00. The lower end is good but has a small chip on the skeg. Lot's of parts to service my future needs.
Andre
I have a 1981 Evinrude 90hp motor that ran fine for a couple years. Just recently it started to exhibat a problem where I could hear an audible noise (clacking sound) at high speeds cominig from the motor. It seemed to shift fine between F/N/R so I continued to use the motor with caution. Last fall when I winterized the motor I drained the gear oil from the lower end and I did notice a bit of fillings on the magnet. So I removed the lower end to see it up close and also replace the impeller. After inspecting the impeller and seeing it looked fine I checked the operation of the shift rod. The prop moved in both directions fine without any audible noises. I re-installed the unit and put it back in the water. The motor shifted fine and the noise was actually gone (or at least I thought) for the first couple trips. I then started to hear the noise come back.
Then the big one hit! The motor would start out quite then a low audible clicking noise started and got louder and all of a suddent a click sound and no more noise. Like it just found it's sweet spot and ran nice a smooth. It did this repeatedly with about 20 seconds of no clicking sounds in between. Then all hell broke out and the motor popped out of forward - well the shifter didn't move just the motor decided to pop out on it's own and make a grinding type sound. I right away pulled it into neutral and the motor continued to idle fine. After a tow back to the dock I decided to start it again and test the shifter. I could only put it into reverse and it moved fine (no noise). The shifter would not go to forward and I felt a strong resistance in the shifter when I moved the thoutle.
Any suggestions on my next steps?
As it stands now:
I have the boat out of the water and will be drainig the lower end to examine for metal filings.
As a bonus - I located the same motor (one year newer) with a blown cyclinder for $300.00. The lower end is good but has a small chip on the skeg. Lot's of parts to service my future needs.
Andre
