posted 11-15-2011 10:13 AM ET (US)        

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Hi guys. Let me start by saying that I have read quite a bit of great posts on here, but I still have some unanswered questions. I recently purchased a 13-foot Whaler with a 1981 35-HP Evinrude. The engine was once wired to this boat, but is now disconnected and just has wires hanging from it. According to the seller, the motor has not been run in [over] 15 years. From what I have read, the first thing I need to do is check for compression. Please correct me if I am wrong. Unfortunately, many of the posts that I read seem to pertain to an engine that has recently run, or is currently wired and installed to a boat. Please bear with my questions because I have only done some very basic maintanance with outboard motors.

Is there something that you would do before doing a compression test to a motor that has been sitting for over 15 years?

How do I get the engine to crank with all of my ignition wires undone? Or if I go straight to the starter, what do I do with the ignition wires?

Do I need to run fuel to the engine for a compression test?

Should I be worried to crank the engine if it has not run in 15 years? I fear that I may break something else

Do I sound so clueless that I am in over my head?

Here is a [url] to some pictures of the motor: http://s1129.photobucket.com/albums/m509/speckulizer/. Let me know if you would like to see other images to help. Thanks in advance--PK

posted 11-15-2011 11:02 AM ET (US)            

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Whoa there Parker! You need the get the motor running first before you even consider doing a compression tests. First things first. If the motor doesn't run, the compression is irrelevant.

If you gave not yet turned the flywheel (and I hope you haven't) then remove the spark plugs and get some oil in the cylinders so that when you gently move the flywheel the cylinders will have some lubrication the first tim the pistons start scraping on the cylinder walls.

Once you done this and the flywheel turns freely you can try to start the motor. The carburetor may, or may not, be gummed up and need a rebuild but trying to get it to start is not going to harm it at this time. I;d try the getting it running before I invested the time to take the carburetor off and take it all apart.

If you are going to run it in a barrel of water you can us the ends of the wires to start the motor. You need to identify what each one is and this Reference Article will help:

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/ignitionSwitch.html

posted 11-15-2011 12:29 PM ET (US)            

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Haha thanks Tom! As you can see, I don't really have a clue what I am doing. With that said, I am trying to learn from people like you and through the power of google (taken with caution).

What type of oil would you recommend for lubricating the cylinders?

posted 11-15-2011 10:20 PM ET (US)            

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No, get the motor started first. There is no reason to invest a bunch of time and money into a motor that will not run. You need to see if it is viable before rebuilding the carb and replacing the water pump and all the other maintenance stuff you should do.

*If* you can get it started, make sure it is pumping water. You'll have several minutes to verify the water pump is moving water before it overheats. The tell tale should be passing water and you may want to insert a length of heavy monofilament or line-trimmer line into the tell tale to make sure it is not clogged (a very common problem).

An infrared thermometer is a useful tool to tell if the powerhead is getting too hot. They are inexpensive now and I keep one around the house for a variety of tasks.

Prioritize. A motor like this running well is only worth $400-$800 so don't go out and buy a bunch of new parts for it before you verify it runs.

If and when you get it running and determine it is viable then yes, by all means, replace the water pump impeller and rebuild the carburetor as well as change the gearcase lube and grease all the grease points.

posted 11-16-2011 10:11 AM ET (US)            

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(No, get the motor started first. There is no reason to invest a bunch of time and money into a motor that will not run.)
That sentence makes no sense at all.

I've resurrected a bunch of old motors, and have seen members of the AOMCI do the same. Its part of the fun of the antique outboard hobby. As stated before the most important thing to find out is if the compression is good enough for that outboard to be considered good enough to run normally, unless it is a rare and valuable outboard(yours is not) and you would rebuild it anyway.
The last two outboards that I returned to service were a '61 Evinrude Starflight V4 75 hp, last year, and a couple of years before that an early '70's 105hp 4 cylinder Chrysler than I found lying in a field at a marine boneyard. The Evinrude had been sitting for at least 25 years, and it was not determined how long the Chrysler was lying in that field. The Evinrude now sits on my restored glass fintail runabout, and runs like new, and I used the Chrysler's powerhead on my Chrysler racing engine. Pics. of both motors have been posted here. I could rotate the flywheel on both motors. that was good news. Some old motors are stuck from years of inactivity. When that happens pull the plugs squirt a large quantity of penetrating oil into the cylinders through the plug holes and wait for a couple or three days. Then take a piece of a wood dowel that just fits in the hole and rap it with a hammer a couple or more times--hard. This should break the bond between the rings and the cylinder walls unless the engine ingested water and is frozen. If so its a parts engine.
So the engine will turn over, now do the oil thing into the cylinders as explained by toshgib. Now its time to do a compression check. A manuel will give you the numbers. A small motor can be rope turned over, but its difficult with a big one. Get some power to the starter, or if you have a working harness with a key switch. hook the cables to a battery and crank the engine. If the numbers come up to normal and if they are within 10 percent of the other(s), congrads you have a usable outboard. Now you can spend some time and some bucks as stated in the other post above to make it run. An easy way to check for spark, is to clean the plugs, squirt some fuel into the cylinder and see if the motor barks when you turn the key.
good luck, BTW that motor you have is ideal for a 13 foot Whaler

posted 11-16-2011 10:38 AM ET (US)            

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Just throwing 2 more cents in. I'm solidly with Binkster and Contender here. Do NOT start the motor first. Lube through the spark plug holes and also put the engine on its back (carb throat pointing straight up) and then put lube down the carb throat. Opening up the throttle will help you get more lube down to the reed plate and ready to be sucked into the crankcase. Now gently pull the engine through a few times by hand with the engine still on its back. Add some more lube into the carb and repeat a few times.

Now do a compression check! It's easy and easy on the engine. Though it may not be what it will be once you're up and running, it will likely point out huge problems (like very uneven compression) that will great affect the effort expenditure and decision making process. If compression is way off, pull the cylinder head next if you want to keep going and determine just how bad things are.

If compression is reasonably good, there's very good cause to keep going with this project. Next thing to do is check for piston slap (I can elaborate on that later, it's easy too) and then for water in the gearcase and spark quality(also easy).

If the above all looks look hopeful there is very little reason to believe you don't have a good engine that is likely going to run fine soon for little additional money.

BEFORE STARTING, I'd highly recommend you at least inspect and replace the water pump. Then, you'll preferably want to clean the carb. If you do these things the engine will likely fire up and be fine.

I recommend this order of events because I have all too many times had customers start a stored engine first, then have over heating problems which become much more than a simply impeller replacement job. This happens when the impeller is so dry rotted that upon first firing, blades immediately crumble and get pushed up in the powerhead where they get lodged in impossible (or very difficult) places to find. The symptoms are then hot spots in the powerhead or perpetual overheating problems even with a new impeller. I've spent DAYS chasing impeller bits down. Often you can never get them all out and return the cooling system back to design specs.