Used Evinrude purchase decision

[prginocx]

This is a 4 HP, 2 strk, 2 Cyl. Evinrude outboard longshaft. Has choke and mixture controls on the lower front, throttle directly above. Throttle moves across L to R to increase RPM. Manual pull start. Forward and Neutral and spins 360 degrees. <br />Motor looks fairly clean for its age (Early 70's according to the owner) and seemed to start and run well. Idled right down and was nice and quiet with very little vibration. Did have smoky exhaust, but what 2 stroke doesn't ? Especially when first started...<br /><br />So far, so good, just what I want. Now we come to the negatory parts. What is with this guys cowling ? 2 part ? How do you get it apart ? I had to lower the bottom part just enough to access the plugs. <br />Plugs looked a little oily, but mostly dry black residue. Compression was 38/35/38 TOP and 35/35/35 BTM. I did it with both Throttle open / close and Choke open / close. This compression seems pretty low to me...This same guage registers around 85 on my old Yamaha 30 HP, and 90 on my current Merc 25 HP. It also registers around 120 on my truck.<br />Next I checked the impeller. I could feel good water flow coming out, but I guess this design has no obviously visible "pee" stream. I had to feel along the lower unit to find the flow.<br />Third negative is the guy is absolutely firm on price.<br />SN is E0009234 Model is E4BR4CNR<br /><br />What should I think about this compression ? Can I get parts to rebuild this motor ?<br />What is with the cowling ?<br />What year range is this motor ?<br />What is with the water pump ? Normal that you can't see the stream ?

 

[JB]

Re: Used Evinrude purchase decision

A little low compression, even for a rope start, but they are close and might come up a lot after a decarb. Worst case, rings and hone job. Parts are very easy to find and not priced like gold.<br /><br />That's an '82, by the way, and one of the most desirable of all the wonderful little JohnnyRude twins because it is long shaft and has a neutral.<br /><br />It exhausts water from the exhaust ports. No telltale.<br /><br />Should you buy it? If it is around $300 or less I wouldn't hesitate, but you gotta go with your own impression. A really nice one might bring $500.<br /><br />Actually it is a piece of junk. Send it to me and I will give it a proper burial.

 

[prginocx]

Re: Used Evinrude purchase decision

Originally posted by JB:<br /> A little low compression, even for a rope start, but they are close and might come up a lot after a decarb. Worst case, rings and hone job. Parts are very easy to find and not priced like gold.<br /><br />That's an '82, by the way, and one of the most desirable of all the wonderful little JohnnyRude twins because it is long shaft and has a neutral.<br /><br />It exhausts water from the exhaust ports. No telltale.<br /><br />Should you buy it? If it is around $300 or less I wouldn't hesitate, but you gotta go with your own impression. A really nice one might bring $500.<br /><br />Actually it is a piece of junk. Send it to me and I will give it a proper burial.

 

[prginocx]

Re: Used Evinrude purchase decision

I wondered if the Decarb would help, that is good news. He is firm on the price so I will have to think about it, or wait and see if it sells. $450 firm.<br /><br />Where would I go for rebuild parts ?<br />And HOW do I take the cowling apart ? Wierd design...

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Used Evinrude purchase decision

if i remember correctly there is a lever under the back of the cowling, that you pull down, kinda hidden. back lift up then comes off.

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Used Evinrude purchase decision

There's no way that compression figure is accurate if it also started and ran.<br /><br />I would guess you're compression gauge is either reading low, or you did not pull enough. These small displacement engines really require quite a few pulls to pump up most compression testers enough. The fact that they read even removes a lot of worry.<br />Choke/Throttle hardly matters on 2-strokes for measuring compression.

 

[prginocx]

Re: Used Evinrude purchase decision

Well, now I feel better about not buying it right off...I loosened two large screws front and rear, and dropped down the lower cowling, but the center of the cowling is metal and doesn't move. Couldn't find any "lever" in the back, like on my Johnson and every other motor...<br /><br />Twice it started while one plug was out and the compression still didn't go up above what I told you earlier. It sounds like my initial impression was correct, this guy might run, but will need at LEAST major de-carb...<br />On the plus side I did get a reply from a shop back east....They said the motor is a '82, and all rebuild parts are IN STOCK. Full kit for rings and impeller is around $50.<br /><br />One final impression...We were running it in a Garbage Can and it pushed water around pretty good, but when I ran my 3.5HP Suzuki in a Garbage Can almost the same size, IT THROWS WATER ALL OVER THE PLACE !! <br />I think this motor had a lot of wear, and this guy should have been willing to bargain with me a little. Let someone else rebuild a 24 year old motor for $450 plus parts !<br />I'll call him again in 3 weeks and see if it sells.

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Used Evinrude purchase decision

$450 definitely seems high. Even high for here. I would be wanting $200-$300 I think, and that's for a fine runner.<br /><br />You should definitely not be able to throttle up all the way in a garbage can.

 

[prginocx]

Re: Used Evinrude purchase decision

Yeah, I went through this one time before with an old Merc my Grampa gave me....Fought that thing for years, until I finally realized it just didn't have enough compression to run right.

 

[CFronzek]

Re: Used Evinrude purchase decision

prg<br />When you get real low compression numbers and they're real close together the usual culprit is the core in the compression tester. Somebody put a core from a tire valve into the tester. Compression testers have a special core with a lightweight spring. They can be gotten from any auto parts store. <br />When compression pressures get below 60 lb starting can be a problem. I doubt that 35 lb would be enough to get the motor to light off.

 

[prginocx]

Re: Used Evinrude purchase decision

I keep pretty good care of this comp tester 'cause I use it on all my motors. Lawnmower, Merc Outboard, Chain Saw, etc..<br /><br />I came home and ran the exact same check on my 1992 25HP Merc. 84-88-86 on BTM - 88-86-88 on TOP. Last year I changed the plugs and that is what it was then also...<br /><br />I think these 2 cylinder outboards will run on pretty low compression, they just won't run well or have much power. remember I only had it in gear for a minute or so, but I did idle for a good 10 min. I'm not in a hurry to buy a motor with low compression, that adds up to more work for me, and the guy wants TOP DOLLAR !

 

[G DANE]

Re: Used Evinrude purchase decision

True compression on your Merc could very well be around 125, thats quite normal. Your gauge would the read like 30 low. Bumps the tiny Evin up to just below 70, the point where it can run. Now these small motors wernt compression kings, I dont remember what they had, but someone else do. Have you ever read 125 - 145 on anything with that gauge.

 

[prginocx]

Re: Used Evinrude purchase decision

Now you are talking sense...My Chevy 350 Truck reads 122-125-123 or in that range for all cylinders and has for 3 years. I don't drive it that much. Should I get a new guage ?<br />So maybe this guage is 30psi low ? I need to add a correction factor for all readings ? <br /><br />Doesn't this still mean this engine I was looking at has low compression and thus reduced power ?

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Used Evinrude purchase decision

Just don't trust those numbers. Like I said before, that engine will not run on those compression numbers. They're pretty hard to start at 55lbs (on my gauge, all gauges are a little different).<br /><br />On a 2-stroke, the compression does two things. 1 it compresses the charge making power, and 2 it pumps fuel/air into the cylinder. So when it's low and especially at idle, 2 doesn't work very well and so it doesn't idle very well.

 

[prginocx]

Re: Used Evinrude purchase decision

Makes sense to me...That is why I made that comment about the water not being thrown out of the barrel. My 3.5 Suzuki would fling water OUT over the sides of the barrel just putting it in gear and barely upping the throttle. <br /><br />This guy putted right along in the barrel just roiling the water a little. Something funny about that...

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Used Evinrude purchase decision

Yeah, it sounds to me like it's running on one cylinder. Probably something minor but $450 for a 4hp with problems? There's a possible ignition fault that will cause it to drop a cylinder as it revs up, so starting isn't affected.<br />I remember one 3hp (ancient predessesor to that outboard) that had really low compression. It couldn't be run at much more than half-throttle in a barrel.