88 force 50

[Roadgypsy]

Just got my first boat and figured it couldn't be too hard to figure out, dad had an old rowboat just like it with an evinrude....... So from what I've gathered here so far, an 88 would fall under the no telltale age? it has a pair of holes at the back that looked like they should have been, and had steam or exhaust drift out of. I didn't run more than about 30 sec on the muffs before I decided I should shut it down, so guessing I'm either safe, or my buzzer is inop. Ordered an impeller and seal, will go from there.

What concerns me most atm is, I apparently managed to melt a bit of solder off one of the neg cables, and both battery posts got hot while attempting to start. I noticed Jerry's sig about outboards not starting in a few seconds, is this just a consequence of overcranking for several minutes? I let it cool and went in shorter periods after that and did get it started, no signs of cooking paint, no buzzer.

 

[catfishcarl99]

Re: 88 force 50

this motor if its like my 89 takes a special muff. regular ones wont work enough to get a good water flow. jerry has shown it to many posters. them two little holes should spit water 3-4 feet out of them within 10-15 seconds to be operating well. and you will get steam and or a bit of exaust smoke out of them too. but i would change the impellor anyways. always good to know you have a new one and know its age. there cheap insurance.

i cant show you the muffs but there not round ones. there no good for this motor. i use a barrell. and water should be above the cavitation plate 3-5".

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: 88 force 50



The regular round muffs can make the 50 overheat.
You need the muffs in the pics.
Most of the exhaust exits through the snout on the bottom.
The holes on the back are relief ports.
Their there for excess water when running wide open.
To test the sender.The buzzer might take a bit to sound before it works,30 seconds might not be enough.
Key on,ground out the orange lead.It should make the buzzer sound.
Melting the post??
Weak starter.Loose connection somewhere.
The ground on the motor tight?
Low compression can do that too.
These starters are easy to clean.

 

[Roadgypsy]

Re: 88 force 50

AHA, I'd seen your earmuff pics a dozen times in the other threads, but this was the first time i blew it up, kept saying the weren't round, but the white thing in background kept making me scratch head lol. Was scratching my head then on how the hose hooked up till i looked on amazon and saw they're dual flow and that's not the entire assembly.

The some of the wires at the neg post were a bit loose, that was the one started melting, so guess tighten everything down real good.

 

[Roadgypsy]

Re: 88 force 50

Happen to know mfg on those muffs? quick search on net and I'm seein dual flow that are rectangular like the one I have, but nothing with that itty bitty head
I have

And I see

Are they at least any better than round if I can't find those? Maybe cut away excess so they shoot jets straight into the screens? Also on the buzzer, is it the orange wire w/stripe on the vertical block that runs back into the back of engine at the bottom, or the ones on the horizontal block to the left?

 

[catfishcarl99]

Re: 88 force 50

the overheat is orange with stripe.

 

[Roadgypsy]

Re: 88 force 50

Yup, buzzer inop. New problem tho, yay! I replaced battery connections and decided to try and start it again in a trashcan then see if it was getting any water to the head/thermo. Now it doesn't wanna start=/ I had it thurs but took a good while, and had to jimmy the throttle to about 1/4-1/2, the prev owner broke the throttle/shift linkage so i was able to push the roller ddown while waiting on parts. It grudgingly started thurs, but spent a good while at it yest and nothing. It would hiccup on choke, hiccup again when let off choke, then nothing, rinse and repeat. Maybe old gas or fuel pump? Tried giving it a few sprays with carb cleaner and didn't help.

 

[Roadgypsy]

Re: 88 force 50

Think I found it, tried a shorter rubbermaid container, thought maybe carb was tilted too far forward. When water is coming out around the head gasket and gas/oil in the exhausted water, think that probably tells me something.......don't think the impeller is going to fix lol. Probably why it did start on the muffs first time, water wasn't getting there. I had it running for a few secs but think got water in the cylinders.

 

[Roadgypsy]

Re: 88 force 50

well, that was simple enough......went to pull the head and turned the first bolt with no resistance.....so went through and torqued down every bolt on the head and side cover (shaking my head in wonder the entire time) and voila! no leaks, starts right up if throttle jimmied a bit, and stays cool as a cucumber. Seems to be running rich, it bogs down when i throttle up, stinks like hell, and takes a second to come back down when I let off, but that should be the easy part. Just need to get the new eyelet in for the linkage and adjust idle should be gtg.

 

[catfishcarl99]

Re: 88 force 50

i seen one on ebay just a bit ago ill find it for you.http://www.ebay.com/itm/1991-50hp-F..._Accessories_Gear&hash=item43af4ecfdb&vxp=mtr

its from a 91 but ends should work. wonder why head and exaust plate was loose??? if it is running ok just keep an eye on it.

 

[Roadgypsy]

Re: 88 force 50

Thx, I had a boat place order me one the day i bought boat, got mail in yest and it somehow turned into an alternator spacer for a 90's 4.6L lol......ordered another one myself off a parts site, the impeller and driveshaft seal I ordered from them myself came in today just fine. They're spares for now since problem seemed to have been the earmuffs(if it ain't broke, don't fix it). Got all my safety gear,anchor, and ropes today and squirted some lube in lower, think gonna try it tomorrow, some gorilla glue seems to be holding that eyelet together for now, and trolling motor/2 paddles backup. Oars would make me feel better but no mounts and walmart here doesn't carry either. Sill idles a little rough but starts and stays without giving it throttle after adjusting air screw, was out way too far. Might dump the gas and put in a fresh mix otw to lake, and add some seafoam.

 

[Roadgypsy]

Re: 88 force 50

So, a walmart trolling motor and telescoping emergency paddles appear to be ineffective backups on a windy day....after 2 hours of trying to get it to idle while banging into the shore I finally broke the glue on throttle link and forced the throttle open before putting it in gear. Don't know that the new throttle link is gonna fix it though, there's a good 1/2 inch of open space between the rocker and the roller when i glued it together. It doesn't look like enough room to screw the link out that much, will have to see when the new one comes.

 

[catfishcarl99]

Re: 88 force 50

i never boat on windy days. trollers wont troll against a decent head wind and if theres current your not moving. and you should get a good solid 6' oar. ive had to use em once for a mile after running out of gas. and honestly. have 2. so if your buddies with ya his butt helps too. if he wants to get home toss him an oar.

 

[Roadgypsy]

Re: 88 force 50

I woulda been fine with a pair of oars until my arms went limp, need to order mounts. The guy i got it from said he never even ran the engine except to make sure it did and did everything with a troller, but he must not have gone out on windy days. I at least know the boat floats fine now, and the engine can be gotten there, just need to see what idle adjustments I'll be able to make when new linkage here.

 

[BlkY2k]

Re: 88 force 50

You can add a telltale to your motor. Theres a good how to in the faqs at the top of this section.