69 evinrude issues, possibly a blocked carburettor?

[simsavage]

Hey everyone, Right in the middle of the season and my poor old girl has caught a cold.
I have a 1969 evinrude Triumph 55HP that has been running 100% every weekend since the beginning of November.
I always have a 5 litre can of fuel as a spare incase I run out and it had been in the boat for a good 6-8 months (Way to old to use)
The motor ran fine however the next weekend I got rid of all the fuel and tried to start it with fresh fuel however she would not start. when I squeeze the bulb it wont go hard like it usually does and fuel comes pouring out in lower areas of the motor. could this be a blocked carburettor?

[Fed]

I expect you will find a little chunk of crap has lodged itself in the carby needle & seat which is stopping it from closing properly.

Probably fix it without pulling the carby off if you're lucky.

[Fed]

The bit of junk should be at the end of the red arrow, you could try undoing the drain plug and give the primer a few pumps to try & flush it.

[ericcs]

make sure first that the fuel pouring out is not from a split or perished hose

[scottar]

Could also be the float has failed

[simsavage]

make sure first that the fuel pouring out is not from a split or perished hose

Thanks everyone for the reply, turns out it was a perished fuel line.
I don't understand how it perished as it was fine one weekend then bust the next but I guess when it happens it happens?

I always unplug the fuel and let it run dry at the end of the day. Should I be doing this?

[JulianDeMarchi]

Thanks everyone for the reply, turns out it was a perished fuel line.
I don't understand how it perished as it was fine one weekend then bust the next but I guess when it happens it happens?

I always unplug the fuel and let it run dry at the end of the day. Should I be doing this?

Opinions on this will be varied. Personally I've always done this with my 2-stroke outboards. It made the difference between standing on the beach pulling the crap out of the motor(when I didn't run it dry) to 3 pulls and she starts(when I did run it dry). My 2-stroke gennie is the same.

[juggernaut]

Agree with JDM if it's a 2 stroker. Otherwise the fuel evaporates leaving the oil to gummy up the carbs.

[ericcs]

i also ran my 2 stroke dry, however i was advised not to on engines with auto lubing

[Fed]

I'm wondering why it wouldn't start, surely after priming for probably an extended period then cranking which runs the fuel pump the carby would be full?

I'm in 2 minds about running dry, sure they start easier but there are a lot of oil injected motors out there where people simply turn off the key.

Had a little thing happen recently, fired up the wife's car after 6 Months standing & a heap of fuel started pouring out from underneath, too low to see under so I took it to a mate's workshop but it had stopped. Put it up on the hoist & had a very good look around with a torch & nothing. Fired it up on the hoist and had another real good look around... nothing. It had 'sealed' itself but finally by wiggling hoses I found I could force one to give a tiny weep, half a turn on the clamp...done. So, letting fuel lines dry out definitely causes them to shrink and possibly leak.

Prior to the car episode I was a firm believer in running them dry but now I'm not so sure.

[juggernaut]

That's why dash fittings and braided teflon fuel line were invented Fed. :D

I use this gear on my modded Nissan. I can't afford fuel spraying on the turbo or exhaust of a circa 400rwhp 4 cylinder. Accepted that a outboard motor is a different kettle of fish though.

[Fed]

I think it's pretty poor Juggernaut, the Commodore is only 25 Years old whereas simsavage's Evinrude lasted 45 Years.

[simsavage]

I suppose the amount of time between running it could also have an effect.
If the fuel goes stale in the lines it couldn't be good for it. but then I suppose it would flush out after a while once you get her going again.
Perhaps having fuel in the line keeps it fresh and prevents the line from drying out/shrinking?

Anyway All fuel lines have been replaced but there seems to be no spark when trying to fire it up. Found some dodgy wiring (again) so doing some very intense wiring work.
Funny how it can run absolutely 100% one weekend and fall to bits the next.

[juggernaut]

I reckon consider yourself lucky - modern day tech motors have more electronics which are more prone to failing just as you've described/experienced.

I didn't mind the old pre-EFI low tech carby / distributor / points / coil / style motors.

[simsavage]

That is true. It was definitely built to last unlike some of the new motors :/