Evinrude Fastwin 18 HP 15032 Leaking Around Exhaust

[Crowsbeak]

Thanks again Fleetwin. I’m gonna run 24:1 and vary speed as suggested. Hoping to hit the lake tomorrow.

Any Idea what these gaskets are for? I thought they were for the carb silencer but confirmed today that’s not correct.

1954 Evinrude 7.5 HP
1954 Evinrude 15 HP
1954 Gale 12 HP
1955 Johnson 10 HP
1956 Johnson 10 HP
1956 Gale 12 HP
1956 Evinrude 5.5 HP
1958 Johnson 7.5
1960 Evinrude 18 HP
1973 Johnson 6 HP

• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by Crowsbeak. Reason: Typo

[fleetwin]

They are fuel pump cover gaskets….The larger one is for the early larger fuel pumps, the smaller is for the later small pumps

[jeff-register]

To avoid breaking bolts use a pointer tyoe torque wrench & never go past rated value trying to remove. Hold the stainless baffle up to a light & look for pin holes. On all exhaust builds bolts I use steam type anti seeze from locktite. As Don says check for flatness on mating surfaces. Ever think of using studs & nuts to secure? If you have room for nuts?

[Crowsbeak]

I was able to hit the lake yesterday, no leaking and motor ran and idled very smooth. I got a lot of odd loks at the ramp since there was no pan or hood on the engine!!! I varied the speed as suggested an ran 24:1 mix, ran for about 45 minutes. When I got home I pulled the plugs and both looked good not wet with water or any signs of one cylinder running richer than the other. Today I will be retorquing the head and exhaust bolts and pulling the powerhead to reinstall the lower pan .
Thanks again to everyone for the great tips and advice to get this old girl running again. I have also posted a WTB add for a starter housing in the classifieds as one of my starter mounting legs is about 90% cracked and my JB weld repair failed last night. If anyone has laying around it would be the final part I need (I hope).

I also hope to get some before and after pics posted, just haven’t found my teardown pics, I guess that is a problem with a project taking 3 years to complete….

1954 Evinrude 7.5 HP
1954 Evinrude 15 HP
1954 Gale 12 HP
1955 Johnson 10 HP
1956 Johnson 10 HP
1956 Gale 12 HP
1956 Evinrude 5.5 HP
1958 Johnson 7.5
1960 Evinrude 18 HP
1973 Johnson 6 HP

[Crowsbeak]

I have been able to get some more Lake time And this motor really pushes my 1962 Starcraft Superduty 12 Tinny which is a very heavy, hard to plane boat. Getting about 18 mph with me and my two teenage sons in the boat. I have attached a couple pics of my boys running it and it hanging on the boat. Still looking for my tear down pics so I can show what a mess it was when I opened it up.

I do want to report that the water issue at exhaust cover is 100% fixed!!

Unfortunately I have found that this has motor has become harder to Cold start and Isn’t idling as well as it did upon wake up and no adjustment on the low speed needle is helping. It bucks and kicks at low idle. It has all new ignition: wires, plugs points and condensers. I used CDI coils if that matters. Coils air gapped properly and point opening timed with Franks timing tool. Holds a high idle well and It accelerates smooth from a high Idle to full acceleration. Plugs are a nice brown when pulled. I am hopeful to smooth out the low idle and get easier starting. I also timed the cam on the pull start to the E not the JE.

Do you think the timing may have slightly moved, should I pull flywheel and check timing again? Maybe oil from the Oiler wick on the points? Any other thoughts?

Thanks as always for any thoughts and suggestions.

1954 Evinrude 7.5 HP
1954 Evinrude 15 HP
1954 Gale 12 HP
1955 Johnson 10 HP
1956 Johnson 10 HP
1956 Gale 12 HP
1956 Evinrude 5.5 HP
1958 Johnson 7.5
1960 Evinrude 18 HP
1973 Johnson 6 HP

[fleetwin]

Well, it is hard to diagnose just reading your symptoms…Is the engine sneezing and coughing, or actually bucking and kicking…. If it is sneezing and coughing, I’m thinking you have a lean fuel mix for some reason…If it is actually bucking and kicking, then it sounds like ignition to me… Anyway of posting of video of the engine misbehaving? Unfortunately, even the audio qualities of videos can be misleading when diagnosing these issues.
You also mention that the engine is hard to start cold, which nudges me more in the direction of ignition, provided the choke linkage is working correctly. Check to make sure the choke is closing fully and the the butterfly advance is working properly. The choke linkage on these engines is not very positive and doesn’t hold the choke closed very well.
So, I guess it is best to start with the basics…Check compression. Check spark. If spark is OK while cranking, I would try those neon inline spark testers to monitor spark with running/misbehaving…Have you changed the plugs? Just cuz they are new doesn’t mean they are any good. Recheck carb sync, perhaps something is holding the carb butterfly open slightly at idle.

[Crowsbeak]

Thanks Fleetwin for your continued assistance.

I will have to figure out how to convert the video to an acceptable format so I can post. I have the carb set in the rich side of the operating window, For both high and low speed. I once it starts it will idle smoothly for about 40 seconds then start to buck mildly a few times then stall. If I lean it out the bucking gets worse and harder and it dies Immediately. I have good spark in my spark tester jumping a 3/8 gap. Attached is a picture of my top plug and the bottom looks the same. Motor runs great at High idle all the way to full throttle. I get it running, warm it up at high idle, back idle off shift and quickly increase throttle To higher rpms so it won’t die. Then it will stay running until I either kill it or try to return to a low idle.

I have not tested compression since the rebuild since I put in new rings In and my friend Had honed and miced the cylinders in his machine shop and said they were well within spec for standard rings. Also the motor runs Well at mid to high rpms so I wasn’t really worried about compression but can get one from the rent a tool If you think the numbers will be helpful.

I did have my spring fall off the choke, I have attached a picture of how I reinstalled in case I did it incorrectly.

I agree with you on thinking it is ignition and will pull the flywheel and check the timing again this week. I guess I can try new plugs also but the fact it was running so well at high idle to full speed had me ruling plugs out.

I’ll report back after ignition is reinspected.

1954 Evinrude 7.5 HP
1954 Evinrude 15 HP
1954 Gale 12 HP
1955 Johnson 10 HP
1956 Johnson 10 HP
1956 Gale 12 HP
1956 Evinrude 5.5 HP
1958 Johnson 7.5
1960 Evinrude 18 HP
1973 Johnson 6 HP

[fleetwin]

Well, again, I would use the inline neon testers before ripping into the ignition again….Let’s do what we can to avoid confusion here. If you are worried about the timing, then I would use a timing light on the engine…Do this at night/dusk so you can see the light clearly. The flywheel pointer should be in between the two marks on the mag plate if the timing is OK. Using the timing light will also tell us if ignition is intermittent. You should see a steady flash of the timing light, intermittent flashes mean ignition issues on that cylinder. Please be careful though, don’t confuse false indications from timing light/neon testers with an actual problem…Be sure to isolate the timing light sensor/neon tester connections from ground/case. And, once again, I would try different plugs, just cuz they are new doesn’t mean they are any good. Keep in mind that bad plugs can affect what you see on the neon testers and timing light also…
The choke linkage “looks correct”, but I haven’t seen or worked with one of these engines lately. The little spring is there to pull the choke closed, but allows the choke to crack open slightly once started to avoid flooding. The horizontal link up top is what pulls the carb butterfly open slightly, kind of like the fast idle set up on automotive carbs. All this linkage relies on the flimsy plastic bushing that surrounds the white plastic choke lever….The choke won’t close fully/stay closed if that silly plastic bushing is worn. The link on the right side of the spring is the actual choke shaft, so I would try to push it back toward the spark plugs with the choke lever pulled out all the way to see if the choke is closing fully. Keep in mind that a lack of friction in the bushing will cause the choke to vibrate open slightly while cranking. So, I guess a good test would be to pull it over a few times with the choke lever out, then go back to see if the choke is still closed fully…

[Crowsbeak]

Thanks for sticking with me on this Fleetwin!!! Also thank you for the good explanation on the choke and how the spring interacts, that system makes a lot more sense to me now.

Tonight I confirmed that when the choke is pulled I cannot push the lever back any further as you suggested so I believe the choke butterfly is fully closing. The choke bushing Also looks good upon a visual inspection and the choke is very stiff to pull out and push in so I do not believe the bushing is worn out yet or vibrating when pulling on the starter, but will confirm the latter.

I don’t think I can remove the carb silencer and install the choke lever/ low speed needle bracket without it so I can see what is happening with the choke butterfly can I?

I also gapped and tested another set of plugs with an ohm meter and then installed them on the motor and then checked my previously installed plugs with the ohm meter and they all checked out good. I used the procedure recommended on Steve’s small engine saloon on YouTube.

Additionally I tightened my carb nuts and also my slow speed packing nut a little more, so maybe I was drawing some extra air in one of those locations?

Tomorrow hopefully I can barrel test again and confirm the choke isn’t starting to open when pulling the motor over and also see if the new plugs changed anything. I will report back my results.

Unfortunately I do not have a timing light or the neon spark testers so if nothing changes tomorrow In the barrel the only way I can check timing is to pull the flywheel and confirm the ignition is firing 180 degrees apart with my timing tool, this as you point out will not rule out intermittent ignition issues, but If I had intermittent issues why would they only show up at low idle though?

Also Are my plug wires routed correctly? Some times one of the wires interferes with the throttle tower, on my 15 hp there is a spring to keep tension on the plug wires, but I do not see one in the exploded parts for this motor.

This really is a disease as much to the dismay of my wife, I am already on the lookout for my next project motor…..

1954 Evinrude 7.5 HP
1954 Evinrude 15 HP
1954 Gale 12 HP
1955 Johnson 10 HP
1956 Johnson 10 HP
1956 Gale 12 HP
1956 Evinrude 5.5 HP
1958 Johnson 7.5
1960 Evinrude 18 HP
1973 Johnson 6 HP

[need2fish]

Not that it’s a big contributor, but the cover, and if possibly the block should be lapped on a surfacing plate/table. Using Scotch Brite rounds the edges of metal, reducing the flat mating surfaces andi introducing irregularities.

The same surfacing plate can tell if the cover and/or the block are warped.

I have 3 FD powerheads in the basement that were victims of leaky exhaust covers… so insidious when the water leaks internally and isn’t seen. I thought I had # 4 when I started it 3 weeks ago and there was so much water under the cowl that I thought the exhause cover had exploded.

Turns out the welch plug on the bottom of the head had let go. All the water coming up from the impeller left the motor via the resulting hole.

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