33HP, 1968 Rude not starting. FIXED - had low/high needles switched.

newboater697

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Jul 30, 2008
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Hey guys,
So this is what i've done so far. Took the boat on a trip and when we got back the primer bulb would not get hard. Took apart the motor to get to the carb. Found a small piece of metal in the bowl, float still floated, needle was in the seat. I put it all back together. Took it out and had trouble keeping it going on low speed but eventually got it going and the motor ran ok in higher speeds. Took it back to the dock to adjust the low speed rich/lean screw and it was running better. Shut it off and hasn't started since. Primer bulb is getting hard, seems to have spark, fuel lines are good... getting tired of trying to pull start it and getting tired of the blisters i'm getting too! Anyone have any ideas?

Also, at one point I thought i was going to have to take the flywheel off so I took the edge bolts off but not the big brass bolt on the very top. The flywheel did drop but luckily I didn't have the right tools to take the top bolt off. I put the flywheel back on but could I have thrown off the timing? I got a book from the library but it doesn't show any timing marks for the 33hp and I couldn't see anything except on the top it says 0.020. Any ideas?
 

56 rude

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Re: 33HP, 1968 Evinrude 33852R not starting and flywheel question.

Re: 33HP, 1968 Evinrude 33852R not starting and flywheel question.

The only bolt you have to take off after removing recoil is the top nut on the flywheel.Im sure you motor would be the same as my 1970 33,the timing is set by the points which are at .020,plug gap at .030.Check the coils when you have it apart and any chalkyness or cracks ,replace.Hard starting can also be because the low speed jet is not properly adjusted.Seat jet lightly then back out approx 3/4 to 1 turn then start and let warm up if possible then put in gear and slowly turn in till motor speeds up then back out ever so slightly.Every motor is a little different and mine runs best at 3/4 turn from seated and thats it no matter what i do.Ijust went on a 70 mile trip and had no issues atall, those motors are torky.Also make sure your primer bulb is properly working ,it should not be going soft .Adjust high speed jet to suit your local conditions ,mine is 1/2 turn out .
 

F_R

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Re: 33HP, 1968 Evinrude 33852R not starting and flywheel question.

Re: 33HP, 1968 Evinrude 33852R not starting and flywheel question.

It is extremely important that you install the flywheel correctly. The flywheel and crankshaft tapers must be clean and dry and you absolutely MUST use a torque wrench to tighten the nut to 100-105 ft/lbs. Do not for a minute think you can guess at it.

If you ignore this advice, the flywheel key will shear and yes that will throw the timing off in relation to the breaker points opening time.

Worse than that, every time the key shears it destroys the flywheel and crankshaft a little more till it is junk and you can just put the motor out at the curb for the trash pickup.
 

newboater697

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Re: 33HP, 1968 Evinrude 33852R not starting and flywheel question.

Re: 33HP, 1968 Evinrude 33852R not starting and flywheel question.

F_R,
I never actually took that center bolt off... I took the ones around the outer rim off and it dropped a bit and then I tightened them back on. Would that have thrown off the timing or does that only happen when you take the big center bolt off?

56 rude,
So I should take the flywheel off and check the points and coils? I've tried anywhere from a 3/4 turn out to 1 and a half turns out on the low speed jet and the motor still doesn't want to start.
 

jay_merrill

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Re: 33HP, 1968 Evinrude 33852R not starting and flywheel question.

Re: 33HP, 1968 Evinrude 33852R not starting and flywheel question.

When you say that you took the bolts on the outer rim off, do you mean the bolts that hold the ring gear in place? If so, you removed bolts that have nothing to do with removing the flywheel.

If the flywheel "dropped" after doing this, but you never touched the large bolt on the crankshaft end, something is wrong - the flywheel shouldn't move at all. If it did, it wasn't seated properly to begin with. Perhaps what you are saying is that the ring gear dropped, which it would be expected to do.

There are three other bolts on the top of the flywheel that hold a rachet, which engages the recoil starter when you hand start the motor. This part must be removed because the three bolt holes under it, are used to install a harmonic puller. To remove the flywheel, you remove the large nut, put the puller in place by resting the center bolt of the it in the detent of the crankshaft end, and then install the three bolts that serve to pull the flywheel up. You must use the correct puller type, with the correct bolts - do not use anything other than a harmonic puller with grade 8 bolts of the correct size, thread count and thread length!

As far as your carburetor is concerned, if you found a piece of junk in it, but didn't do a thorough cleaning of the the carb, there may well be more junk present. Buy a rebuild kit an be sure to remove and replace the core plug on top of the carb. It is important to remove this plug to make sure that there is no junk in the passageway that it allows access to.

In general, it sounds like you need to buy an OEM service manual (they are available here at iboats) and study it. Removing the ring gear unnecessarily isn't the end of the world, but it does indicate that you are unfamiliar with the motor.
 

F_R

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Re: 33HP, 1968 Evinrude 33852R not starting and flywheel question.

Re: 33HP, 1968 Evinrude 33852R not starting and flywheel question.

What jay said is good. I didn't realize you were speaking of the ring gear bolts. I thought you had the flywheel off. I could make an unkind remark concerning removing the ring gear bolts, but jay said it best.

If I may add, you are going about this all wrong in the first place. You should have isolated the problem before tearing into something. "Fixing" something that isn't broken only compounds the problem.

An orderly troubleshooting would have involved first checking the compression to see if you even have a viable motor to fix. Then you should have checked to see if you have a good 1/4" spark.
 

newboater697

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Re: 33HP, 1968 Evinrude 33852R not starting and flywheel question.

Re: 33HP, 1968 Evinrude 33852R not starting and flywheel question.

Ummm... guess you guys didn't see that i checked the fuel line, the spark and such before I tore into the motor. I was trying to get the carb out but didn't know how to get to it. Yes, trying from the top wasn't the brightest idea but i'm new to this and had no help. I eventually took the solenoid and starter off to get to it.

Anyways... motor is fixed... just had the low speed and high speed needles switched. Read the manual last night and it finally popped out at me that I had them in the wrong places. Woke up this morning, switched the needles and it started just like old times.

Thanks anyways,
Kevin
 

jay_merrill

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Re: 33HP, 1968 Rude not starting. FIXED - had low/high needles switched.

Yup, that would make the motor not want to start! If you have not already, go back to the carb section in the service manual and read up on how to set the adjustments for the high and low speed jets. Getting them adjusted properly requires the boat to be in the water, or for the motor to be in a "run tank - you can't get the motor adjusted properly on the "muffs." Once things are set up, however, you should be back in business!
 

newboater697

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Jul 30, 2008
Messages
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Re: 33HP, 1968 Rude not starting. FIXED - had low/high needles switched.

Was just the low/high speed needles. Switched them and it started right away. Had to play with the low and high speed needles to get it to run properly but it's up and running now.
 
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