Old Evinrude V4! Weak Stream Ok?

[2G6]

I just joined this site, so noob here, but I'm not a noob to using the internet or V -Bulletin haha. I'm on some car forums here and there. Anyway, I picked up an old 15' Seaswirl Tri-Hull that's water safe, but does need a few maintenance issues dealt with. The steering cable was jammed in the steering tube (I guess aka tilt tube?) so after a bit of massaging I got it freed up. After proper lubrication and a new OEM steering arm the system works flawlessly again. The kicker that came with the boat is a Johnson 2-banger that's a whopping 3hp, and after new plugs and some ether she fired right up.

Anyway, the reason I'm posting is because of the main power plant. It's a 1978 Evinrude 85hp V4. It has low hours and runs downright excellent. I've gone through the routine maintenance and done the lower unit and lubed all the zerks. I'm very happy with how good the motor idles down and takes a load, but the problem is that there's not much water coming out.

It runs great and moves a lot of water and doesn't seem overly hot, but I've never seen an outboard barely spit any water. Also, there are 2 little outlets where the water is supposed to shoot out and one side is heavier than the other. IDK if that's relevant, but figured it was worth mentioning. Water does come out, but it's not the steady stream I'm used to seeing. The only reason I haven't replaced the impeller and related yet is because the fellow I bought this boat from said it was supposed to be like that and he'd ran it like that for years. I'm getting ready to launch on Saturday and just want to make sure I have everything in line. Any help or information would be awesome. Sorry for the long post haha.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Old Evinrude V4! Weak Stream Ok?

So the guy that sold it to you said it was suppose to do that huh?
Sounds like he wanted to sell the boat to me.
Ya you probly need a new impeller, if it has been like that for years it should be changed.
If you are in hurry and you don't have dealer locally try Napa, the have alot of outboard parts and you don't have to wait for shipping,provided it is in stock.
If your not in a hurry the iboats store has really good prices on all of it's items.

 

[F_R]

Re: Old Evinrude V4! Weak Stream Ok?

Where are you looking? There is a plastic tell-tale fitting in the lower cowl that should pee a healthy solid stream of water. It could be plugged up. As for the holes in the back, those are exhaust relief holes, and water blows out there with exhaust. That is not supposed to be solid stream, or even close to solid stream. And yes, it is common for one side to be heavier than the other. Don't try to figure why, just accept it. Bottom line is that any of the indicators you see are only a small portion of the total water being circulated. Most of it goes out underwater.

 

[Theoutdoorsman]

Re: Old Evinrude V4! Weak Stream Ok?

I'd highly recommend you locate an OEM service manual on eBay before making any repairs or attempting service. Along with the impeller, a new thermostat kit may be in order. The e'rude I rebuilt 2 years ago didn't even have them installed and this caused a weak, to very little stream, at idle. Don't take the old mans word on things. Check out the FAQ's forum for instructions on decarbing the outboard. Those old v4's were bad about carbon deposit buildup. Make it an anual part of your maintanence routine. Oh, and did I mention purchasing a service manual.........

 

[brandonsb22]

Re: Old Evinrude V4! Weak Stream Ok?

Welcome 2G6, I am new here as well. I have about the same motor as you I believe; 1977 Evinrude V4 115 hp. And I think I know exactly what you are talking about. I posted the same question about a week ago and got great information from a few well experienced people here. Here is the web address to that post, it should help you greatly.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=241854

 

[iwombat]

Re: Old Evinrude V4! Weak Stream Ok?

'77 ->'78 was a model change year (different block) and there's a few things of note that are different with respect to this problem.

1) '77 did not have a tell-tale.
2) '77 only had one vernatherm (t-stat like thing) that serviced both sides of the block. The '78 has two thermostats - one for each side.

 

[2G6]

Re: Old Evinrude V4! Weak Stream Ok?

Where are you looking? There is a plastic tell-tale fitting in the lower cowl that should pee a healthy solid stream of water. It could be plugged up. As for the holes in the back, those are exhaust relief holes, and water blows out there with exhaust. That is not supposed to be solid stream, or even close to solid stream. And yes, it is common for one side to be heavier than the other. Don't try to figure why, just accept it. Bottom line is that any of the indicators you see are only a small portion of the total water being circulated. Most of it goes out underwater.

Thank-you for that. I feel like an idiot. I was looking at the exhaust relief holes expecting a steady stream rofl. Yeah I put the muffs on and it's all good. That explains everything. I just spent 7 hours cleaning the boat from top to bottom and will launch tomorrow. Now I'm happy because my motor is good to go. I'm sure it'll have issues later down the line, but I'm doing preventative maintenance now to assure it lasts as long as possible. I'm not going to do any major repairs until I know what I'm doing. Lubing some zerk fittings and a basic tune-up are within my capabilities though. Thanks again for the help everyone.