1985 evinrude 185 issues

[Joes_yj]

hey all i have a 1985 glastron 19 foot boat with a 1985 evinrude 185hp v6 on it, i just bought the boat a few months ago. i have a whole bunch of issues with it. the boat has a bad hesitation.it will usually idle fine but when its dropped into gear in the water it stalls out. if i get lucky and it doesnt i have to baby it and eventually i can get it to have some speed. ive replaced the fuel filter and it got a little better i also replaced the plugs. i accidently mixed the fuel to rich and then it got worse again. im assuming its a fuel issue. once it gets on plane it will haul... but it has such a bad hesitation. im wondering if the fuel pump is going out? it gets worse as the day goes on.i had to get towed back in. and once its hot it can be a real bear to start. heres somethings i have done so far
checked carbs for dirt or clogging-none found
replaced fuel filter
replaced plugs
checked compression- when i checked it i found water on all three plugs on the left side. i assume bad head gasket(hopefully) the left side had 60 psi on all 3 and the right side had about 85-90 i did the test cold because i have no water around to test the boat in.

i dont know where to go from here, im thinking of trying a de carb and then retest compression and pulling left side head. any help or tips would be great thankse

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 1985 evinrude 185 issues

Water in the powerhead is possible death to the engine. If you get enough water, you can get a high rpm lockup due to water between the head and piston crown. Then the rod blows out the side of the block. Best to get the head off and have a look before something happens. Not suprised you have a dead spot in the rpm's, with only 60 lbs compression. Starboard compression is pretty normal. Hopefully, it's just a bad head gasket-a cheap and easy fix.

 

[Joes_yj]

Re: 1985 evinrude 185 issues

seems like the other compression is a little low, then again im used to working on cars. i guess ill pull the head and go from there.is there a chance the fuel pump is on its way out? causing it to run ok some and run like crap at other times ?

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 1985 evinrude 185 issues

You can do a simple fuel pump test. When running the engine and it starts to bog, have a friend constantly prime the fuel hose bulb. This will force extra fuel around the fuel pump, directly into the carb bowls. If the engine picks up and runs normally (at WOT), as long as you constantly prime that hose bulb-you've identified a fuel delivery problem. It is very possible that the problem is a weak fuel pump.
Symptoms of a weak pump are: engine runs fine at WOT for a brief period, then slows down. (fuel pump will re-fill the carb bowls.) In a minute or so-the engine will pickup again and run WOT. The cycle will repeat.

 

[Joes_yj]

Re: 1985 evinrude 185 issues

well when it finally feels like taking off it will get to plan and fall back and do that a few times so maybe i do havea fuel pump issue, is there any other checks/adjustments i can make? timing and spark gap?

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 1985 evinrude 185 issues

Timing is not usually something which will cause this problem. The spark plugs that are supposed to be in that engine are gapless, center fire plugs.

 

[boobie]

Re: 1985 evinrude 185 issues

Find out where that water is coming from in the cyl's before you do anything else.

 

[Joes_yj]

Re: 1985 evinrude 185 issues

hey all i know its been a while but i finally pulled the head off and found a blown gasket . does anyone know the torque specs for the head, cooling jacket and thermostat housing? thanks alot and ill let you know how she runs when its all fixed up

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: 1985 evinrude 185 issues

The head bolts get torqued to 18-20 ft lbs, usually in 2-3 stages. Start in the middle of the head and work in a circular fashion outwards. You'll want to do a final retorque after the engine has gone through 2-3 heat/cool cycles.