Opinions on '82 15hp Evinrude

[Jacob645]

My father in law told me if I could get his boat up and running, I could duck hunt with it anytime I want. It was fixed up at the dealership 2 years ago but has sat for about 1.5 years. Are these motors generally pretty reliable and where should I start with getting it running? Carb kit and new plugs?

 

[Jim Hawkins]

I try not to spend any money on a motor until I have a good idea all that it needs. I would say a good start is to hook up the fuel tank and give the rope a pull. If it was gone over by a dealer that recently it may, may need nothing. One thing, you may want to disconnect the fuel line from the carb and pump the prime bulb until fresh fuel comes through. Then reconnect and try to start it.

 

[OptsyEagle]

Those are very good motors and 1.5 years is not all that long of time to sit. Hopefully he stabilized the fuel before laying it up for the duration.

I would simply put the lower end into some water or put it on the boat, and start it up. Make sure it pees some water from the tell tale, soon after the start up and if it does, you are pretty much good to go. 50:1 gas to oil. Maybe put in some new spark plugs and you might want to ask your FIL when he last changed the impeller. If it has been more then 5 years, or he cannot remember, plan to change that.

 

[Ryan0186]

I bought a 1983 Evinrude 15HP a few years ago and am surprised how good it runs for its age. Mine was abused and still works great so those old motors are retty bulletproof. If I were you I would check all the wiring under the cowl, clean any corrosion on the wires, change the sparkl plugs, clean and rebuild the carb, clean the fuel tank and check the line and primer for any cracks or leaks. Also go ahead and change the lower unit oil, replace the seals on the lower unit screws and also change the waterpump. Most of these items I listed should be done or atleast checked on an annual basis. Once you get all those checked out the motor should run great all season. Shouldn't be more than about 100 dollars worth of parts and can be a fun learning experience. Also a little advice when removing bolts, if the motor was usedd in salt water be easy when removing the bolts, use a lot of PB balster and treat any bolts removed with antiseize before reinstalling them. Other than that you have a great motor!

 

[Jacob645]

Well, we put a new tank and fuel line on it because the fuel pickup line in the tank had broken off at the plastic 90 degree part. Still couldn't get fuel to the fuel pump. The only thing in between the two was the fuel hookup on the motor. We took it off, and there was living larvae plugging up the entire hole. It was GROSS! Well, we cleared that out and got fuel shooting out of the pump. I pumped the bulb a few times to try and clear out that line as much as I could just in case a momma bug was in there. Still wouldn't start. Checked the plugs. They were wet and black, but would spark against the power head very easily. Going to break into the carb this weekend.

 

[Ryan0186]

I can almost guarantee that once you clean the carb it will prob fire up. Make sure that you fully clean the carb orphices. Use a very large blade screw driver to remove the needle bonnet. I used a screw drive that was too small the first time I took the carb apart on mine and it stripped out. I had to drill and tap the hole. Not fun. Make sure you alsom remove the welch plug at the top of the carb. I would recommend getting a can of cab dip, take everything apart and let it sit for about 30 mins in the dip. Then blow it out with compressed air. When I initially cleaned the carb on my motor I thought I did a good job and was shocked when I say more junk coming out after it would not idle properly. Once I cleaned it all up it fired on the first pull.

 

[Jim Hawkins]

I agree with Ryan, should start right up. You could just remove the spark plugs and squirt a little fuel into each cylinder and give it a pull.

One thing - what I said about disconnecting the hose from the carb and pumping fuel through was just for testing. Before you put the carb back on, do your self a favor and run new fuel lines and throw in a cheap in line filter just for fun. I used to think the fine folks on here who recommended that were preaching over kill - but I was wrong.

 

[OptsyEagle]

I agree with Ryan, should start right up. You could just remove the spark plugs and squirt a little fuel into each cylinder and give it a pull.

One thing - what I said about disconnecting the hose from the carb and pumping fuel through was just for testing. Before you put the carb back on, do your self a favor and run new fuel lines and throw in a cheap in line filter just for fun. I used to think the fine folks on here who recommended that were preaching over kill - but I was wrong.

I agree completely with replacing all the fuel lines. If you don't add a separate fuel filter, at least clean out the fuel screen in the fuel pump. I try to do that at the end of every season.

 

[Ryan0186]

Also with these older outboards I was always told that if it doesn't start by the third pull then something is wrong.