1956 Evinrude Lightwin 3HP - 2 MPH!

[chad101]

I rebuilt the carb and fired it up in a trash can; adjusted the low and high speed valves; water is flying everywhere! The engine sounds really strong. Great!

I mount it to my 12ft john boat and take for a spin. At full throttle, the engine RPMs is NOWHERE near what I getting during my test run. I was lucky to hit 2 MPH; I can paddle my canoe faster than than this!

I don't think it's a weight issue; before I rebuilt the carb, I was hitting 5 MPH. But I was not reaching max RPMs, this is why I rebuilt it.

NOTE: This is embarrassing...but maybe the information will help with diagnosing the low speed issue.

Being the idiot I am, I wound up in some shallow muddy water (while returning to the dock). Guess what? The engine RPMs max out...but my boat crawls to a halt...I busted something! Sure enough, my prop (which is caked in mud) is not spinning...not my day!!!

I'm not sure if I busted the shear pin. I'll have to wait until tomorrow. But why is my lightwin behaving like this? She sounds great in in the trash can...put her on a boat she is ornery...

 

[1946Zephyr]

Re: 1956 Evinrude Lightwin 3HP - 2 MPH!

The cavitation plate must match with the keel. If it is above the keel, then this could likely be the cause.

 

[lindy46]

Re: 1956 Evinrude Lightwin 3HP - 2 MPH!

Could be many things. Could idle fine (on one cylinder) but not reach top end if a coil is bad. Could be compression. Have you checked it? Could be a dirty carb. If it's revving and going nowhere, could be a spun prop hub.

 

[Fuzzytbay]

Re: 1956 Evinrude Lightwin 3HP - 2 MPH!

The cavitation plate must match with the keel. If it is above the keel, then this could likely be the cause.

The cavitaion plate should be within 1 inch of the bottom of the keel. IF its too high up on the keel, the motor will "cavitate". This is where the prop lose's bite in the water, and cause's over revs, and no more forward momentum.

"I mount it to my 12ft john boat and take for a spin. At full throttle, the engine RPMs is NOWHERE near what I getting during my test run. I was lucky to hit 2 MPH; I can paddle my canoe faster than than this!"

"I don't think it's a weight issue; before I rebuilt the carb, I was hitting 5 MPH. But I was not reaching max RPMs, this is why I rebuilt it. "

I think its a carb problem, and he needs to fine tune his idle mixture and high speed jet at the least.