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I have what I think is a late 60's 80hp Evinrude Selectric Shift that has been sleeping a real long time. Last reg on the boat is 1996. PO did not start it but he told me the guy he bought from said it does run. I will do compression test first. I had all 4 plugs out. If I turn it over by hand it does feel like there is compression. I removed the drain screw from the lower end today and no oil dripped out. Seemed dry. There is corrosion on the front of the engine. Wish I could post a pic but that's another story. 3 plugs looked real clean(possibly new) one was rusted on the outside but looked like the other 3 on the electrode side. What steps should I take to try to start it if the compression looks good? What range should the compression be within. If someone could walk me through this process I would really appreciated it.Thanks.
Not long ago, I purchased a Whaler with twin Johnson 70's that had not been run in 28 years, with the boat being stored in an unheated garage in Wisconsin the entire time. Seller, a friend and customer, told me the entire rig had less than 300 hours on it.
I read all of the advice I could find on the subject on these Whaler websites, but not being an outboard mechanic, decided the boat should go to a Johnson/BRP dealership for initial start up and determination of condition.
All I did was remove the plugs, and turn the engine over by hand, by rotating the flywheel. It's easy to do. The engine had been fogged, and there was still plenty of oil in the cylinders, and they turned smoothly.
What I learned is it's no big deal. The guys at the shop simpy squeezed in the fresh fuel, and hit the starter, and said "let's see what happens". Both started in a mass of blue smoke. One ran much better than the other. They then shut them down, and checked compression, which was factory original - I was lucky.
For service, they removed all carbs, boiled them out, installed new carb kits. Also put in new impellers, gear case oil and plugs, and new fuel hoses. That was it. They ran perfectly, and like new after that. It cost me about $500/engine.
I would assume your engine will need the same operations, and as long as the pistons move freely, should run fine.
If your engine has a distributor, that will probably need service also.
I have a `61 Evinrude starflite 75hp V4. I bought it about a year ago. It was stored for many years in Northern Michigan, where there is a short boating season and only fresh water. Your motor is very similar, except mine has manual shift and yours is electric shift. I hope you have the shifter box and the controls when you got the motor. I think your motor has the solenoid mounted inside the engine cover, mine did not and it took me a while to find one. The compression should be 85-95psi which is normal, and is what mine is. First check the compression, then check for spark. If both test well your mostly home. Both on mine were good, so I started it. It ran but not well, Gas was coming out from just about everywhere at the two barrel vertical carb. Your carb may be different, but no matter it is a simple rebuild, you can do yourself. I found that mine had a cork float that was shot. These are very reliable, high torque outboards, and I understand most parts are still available from the dealer. Anyway, I rebuilt the carb, and the motor starts and runs like new. The antique boat I have it mounted on is now finished, and I will run the boat on a lake at the next AOMCI event on May 21. I hope it runs as well on the lake as it does on the hose.
Here is a pic of my Evinrude 75 http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c19...lboat6.jpg
OK I`m back with more info. The link below will be invaluable to you It is for the Antique Outboard Motor Club Inc. We are a club dedicated to preserving and running old and antique outboards. They have a message board similar to this one, but the folks who answer questions are outboard experts. Mostly old mechanics, retired dealers and outboard engineers. They will help you as they helped me. I've been a member for 8 years and take my antique boats to the monthly meets. Lots of great people. If you like old outboards think about joining. Is this motor on an old Montauk. There is a chapter in the NYC and Long Island area also one upstate NY. http://www.aomci.org
Here is another link that will help you. It is a genealogy of every OMC outboard ever built. You can look up yours and get the specs and see a brochure
Also if you need parts, any parts at all, call Gary`s Marine Repair His phone# is 727-863-9277 He told me he has more parts for old OMC outboards than any dealer in the country, and has every part needed to rebuild my 75hp Starflite if I need it. by the looks of his shop I believe him. He said He has been fixing OMC`s for 50 years. I bought my carb parts from him and will buy gearcase seals after I run the motor at the meet, as I have a leaky gearcase. his shop is in my area, north of Tampa. BTW fill your gearcase with 80wt. gearcase oil before you run the engine. It probably was only drained, not leaked out. One more thing run your old outboard on 50:1 mix not the 24:1 used back in the day. Oil is different now, and you won`t foul plugs.
Good luck and I hope I help somewhat. Its amazing the oddball info you can pickup on this Whaler website. LOL
iboats.com has a great section under johnson/evinrude motors forum FAQ about awakening a sleeping motor. The selectric shift is the big concern here. I revived a Johnson 65 about a year ago with the same shifting system, and I got lucky that everything worked. The shifter solenoids that actually shift the unit into FNR are in the foot, and I don't believe they're available anymore. Some of the things in that foot are servicable, but others are not. The foot takes a different oil than the newer units. Iboats also has a lot of info about the foot, including how to test it. There's a lot to learn about it. I got lucky, but won't go with something that old again, too much time invested just in research!
Garry`s Marine has shifting solenoids. My `61 75 Evinrude has conventional shift. The electric shift can be problematic, but its always either corroded wiring or the solenoids.
