1997 90 spl hard finding neutral and Prop Help

[jonnysteals]

I bought this boat a few months ago. When I first got it. i replaced the lower unit oil, new plugs and wires and a new fuel filter. It ran great in the begining. NOw my motor is acting a little cold blooded. My motor now does not like to idle unless its reved a little first. Thats not really a big issue because when I first go out I rev it up to warm it up for a bit then its fine all day.

The main issue is that recently its near impossible to find neutral. Recently to get it started I turn the key to start the mototr and wiggle the gear selector to find neutral. When the motor turns over your in neutral(crued but it works). The boat runs great. Once its starts your good to run all day. It never misses a beat and loves being at 3/4 throttle cruising. Once its warmed up it will idle all day t so I think that me not letting it warm up properly.

My other issue is that the previous owner of the boat killed the prop. On blade of the prop is missing a 2 inch chunck of meta and the rest are all messed up. i tried going prop shopping but their are 17" pitched, 15" pitches and so forth. My boat is a 18 foot center console with a 1997 evinrude 90hp spl. Does anyone know what prop I need at a resonable price. MY boat take a while to get on a plane but once it planes out its actually surprisingly fast.

Thanks for all the help in advance. I really appreciate since I love my little put put boat to much to get ride of it. I went new boat shopping and the prices the wanted for new boats reinforced the fact that me and my put put boat are gonna be long time friends lol. Thanks again

 

[jonnysteals]

Re: 1997 90 spl hard finding neutral and Prop Help

Well figured since your helping me out you may want to see the boat for a prop selction guide or just may want to see what my boat (SS Minnow) looks like. Heres my boat in all its glory with the new bottom paint I put on when I bought it. Boats also been completely rewired well because honestly I cant leave anythign alone. Thanks again

 

[ondarvr]

Re: 1997 90 spl hard finding neutral and Prop Help

The prop information should be stamped on the hub, sometimes it can be difficult to see though. Just take your prop in and have it fixed, it'll cost less than buying a new one, once you get it fixed you can see if its the correct pitch for your set up. At that time you can buy a spar of the same, or different size as needed.

What method are you using to start it when cold, be specific.

 

[jonnysteals]

Re: 1997 90 spl hard finding neutral and Prop Help

Heres my method to start the boat. IM a newbie with outboards. All my other boats have been jet boats. Please bare with me in my new adventure.

1) turn battery switch to on
2) punp ball on fuel line until it becomes hard
3) push key in while starting to active the choke
4) start and let idle for a few seconds(never had it not start upwith 3 -4 secs of cranking)
5 optional) if idiling roughly I pull gear selector out of gear and move forward to let it rev in neutral for a few seconds(approx 5-15secs).
6) put in gear and off you go, it will idle great after its reved up a bit. Until recently I never had to rev it up; just push in the key and off I went. I dunno if this is part of it but I run the old fuel lines that are not ment for ethenal fuel. I would rather not replace them because it looks like a pain in the butt, but if this is causign em headakes I will. No leaks or anythign of that sort.

Note: I never really let it run at the dock for more than a moment or two. Usually the idle becomes normal and will let me drive away. If there is anything I should do differently elt me know please. This boat has been reliable and I have driven it over 1 hr away and back with great results so far. Just a few more little glitches until its finally set up perfect for me.




Now on to the prop. I am not sure if the prop is meant for my engine or not. I talked to the previous owners mechanic of the boat and it was just an old prop he had laying around that he gave my previous boat owner. Hes not sure if its meant for the motor or not but it was free so he didnt care. Any particular way to tell if the right prop for my boat. I can take pictures if it will help diagnose the problem as well. Thanks again

 

[ondarvr]

Re: 1997 90 spl hard finding neutral and Prop Help

Try pushing the key in for the count of 5 before trying to start it, your engine doesn't have a choke, it has a primer and it needs to flow fuel into the engine before cranking. Pushing the key back in couple of times after it starts to keep it running is normal.

If your motor is sitting lower in the water than before, it may not run as well at idle (Back pressure). ??


A carb cleaning is always a good start on an idle issue, you should do a decarb while you're at it too.


You'll never know if its the correct prop until you get it fixed and then use a tac and determine the WOT RPMs.

 

[jonnysteals]

Re: 1997 90 spl hard finding neutral and Prop Help

Thanks I will give it a shot this weekend. I am going to fix my tach and see what I get a wot. What is normal wot tach reading for my motor(1997 evinrude 90 spl). Thanks again I will hold the key in longer and report back

 

[jonnysteals]

Re: 1997 90 spl hard finding neutral and Prop Help

That settles the minor inconvience of it idling rough. Does anyone have any suggestion on my major problem of neutral being a pain in the but to find. I already greased up the shifter cable and all lickages. Any other suggestion. I will be regreasing the shifter cable before my next outing this weekend to see if it make a difference.