brewfish
Well-known member
Well here's the deal. I bought a jon boat with a 1988 9.9 Evinrude and a trailer for cheap. The guy I bought the rig from was a avid duck hunter so I know that whole time he owned it the motor never saw salt water. I know he didn't own the boat for but about 3 years so that leaves quite a few unknown years there. I asked him about the motor before buying the rig and here's the story that I got:
This guy is in the navy and lives in an apartment complex. When I bought it from him he said that he had just got back from deployment and while he was gone some guys had tried to steal the motor off the back of the boat. He said his wife told him that the security guard caught them in the act and that they hauled butt and were never caught. The gas tank got stolen and one side of the motor clamp (the threaded piece that actually clamps the motor to the boat) has that plastic handle broke off and the threads are pretty ate up. It looks like that tried to use some vice grips to unscrew it and in the process totally killed the threads on the one side. In the end he said they only were able to get away with the gas tank and he still had the fuel line that goes to the tank and of course the motor. He said that when he got back from deployment he tried to start the motor with the gas that was in still in the hose and couldn't get it started. He said he was buying a new boat so didn't want to fool with this one any more. :-k
Not really sure what to make of the story....is it just that a story or is it the truth. I know you can't always judge a book by it's cover but for what it's worth he seemed like a stand up guy, no BS artist vibes at all and even went so far as to invite me to go duck hunting with him FWIW.
All of this being said I am about 1/2 way done with my boat and this whole motor issue is starting to weigh heaver on my mind. I don't have a clue as to where I should even start with the motor. I've looked it over pretty well (removed the hood /lid whatever you call it) and didn't see what I would consider any salt water corrosion. The idle knob is gone and the pull start cord doesn't go all the way back in when pulled. When i was messing around with the motor I did take off a black plastic piece off the top of the carb and noticed the screws were definitely not originals as they had a couple of nuts larger than the actual screws serving as a spacer so the screws would tighten up properly. I also noticed that what ever the little black things are that have wires going from them to the spark plugs look new. I pulled out one of the plugs and seem to have a nice fat blue spark when I turned the motor over and had the plug grounded to the motor. I only checked one of them because the other plug was missing the little cap that screws over the end of the plug and didn't seem like it would make contact with the metal piece in the spark plug cap. I also noticed that there is a phillps head screw on the lower unit that looks like it has been used quite a few times so I am guessing (and hoping) that this has something to do with the lower end having the oil changed on somewhat regular basis.
The bottom line is that i couldn't fill a thimble with what I know about working on outboard motors but I would like to start learning. I have a clymers manual that cover about 20 years worth of the evinrude motors between 3 and 40 horse and something crazy like a 20 year time span i believe. I have to say this manual is pretty much useless for the novice as it either assumes you know what certain parts are and some times totally omits steps when working on certain year models. I would really like to start gaining knowledge on how to work on outboards since the local mechanic just quoted me 85$ an hour labor and I am far from a rich guy! I don't want to spend a ton of money on something that I may never be able to get running but don't have the slightest clue on how to determine whether this thing may only need a few minor things or I would just be throwing good money after bad by trying to fix this it. Hell for all I know i may be able to buy a new tank. fill it up with gas and have this baby fire up but I some how doubt that. I'm pretty sure that is hasn't run in about 8 months to a year. If you've read through this whole rambling post God bless you and if you have any advice about where to start / what to do i would be greatfull!
Thanks,
Joe
This guy is in the navy and lives in an apartment complex. When I bought it from him he said that he had just got back from deployment and while he was gone some guys had tried to steal the motor off the back of the boat. He said his wife told him that the security guard caught them in the act and that they hauled butt and were never caught. The gas tank got stolen and one side of the motor clamp (the threaded piece that actually clamps the motor to the boat) has that plastic handle broke off and the threads are pretty ate up. It looks like that tried to use some vice grips to unscrew it and in the process totally killed the threads on the one side. In the end he said they only were able to get away with the gas tank and he still had the fuel line that goes to the tank and of course the motor. He said that when he got back from deployment he tried to start the motor with the gas that was in still in the hose and couldn't get it started. He said he was buying a new boat so didn't want to fool with this one any more. :-k
Not really sure what to make of the story....is it just that a story or is it the truth. I know you can't always judge a book by it's cover but for what it's worth he seemed like a stand up guy, no BS artist vibes at all and even went so far as to invite me to go duck hunting with him FWIW.
All of this being said I am about 1/2 way done with my boat and this whole motor issue is starting to weigh heaver on my mind. I don't have a clue as to where I should even start with the motor. I've looked it over pretty well (removed the hood /lid whatever you call it) and didn't see what I would consider any salt water corrosion. The idle knob is gone and the pull start cord doesn't go all the way back in when pulled. When i was messing around with the motor I did take off a black plastic piece off the top of the carb and noticed the screws were definitely not originals as they had a couple of nuts larger than the actual screws serving as a spacer so the screws would tighten up properly. I also noticed that what ever the little black things are that have wires going from them to the spark plugs look new. I pulled out one of the plugs and seem to have a nice fat blue spark when I turned the motor over and had the plug grounded to the motor. I only checked one of them because the other plug was missing the little cap that screws over the end of the plug and didn't seem like it would make contact with the metal piece in the spark plug cap. I also noticed that there is a phillps head screw on the lower unit that looks like it has been used quite a few times so I am guessing (and hoping) that this has something to do with the lower end having the oil changed on somewhat regular basis.
The bottom line is that i couldn't fill a thimble with what I know about working on outboard motors but I would like to start learning. I have a clymers manual that cover about 20 years worth of the evinrude motors between 3 and 40 horse and something crazy like a 20 year time span i believe. I have to say this manual is pretty much useless for the novice as it either assumes you know what certain parts are and some times totally omits steps when working on certain year models. I would really like to start gaining knowledge on how to work on outboards since the local mechanic just quoted me 85$ an hour labor and I am far from a rich guy! I don't want to spend a ton of money on something that I may never be able to get running but don't have the slightest clue on how to determine whether this thing may only need a few minor things or I would just be throwing good money after bad by trying to fix this it. Hell for all I know i may be able to buy a new tank. fill it up with gas and have this baby fire up but I some how doubt that. I'm pretty sure that is hasn't run in about 8 months to a year. If you've read through this whole rambling post God bless you and if you have any advice about where to start / what to do i would be greatfull!
Thanks,
Joe