Evinrude 30hp, another poor decision?

[checkoutmyjunk]

I have a pontoon "barge" that I need to move from time to time and I am getting sick of borrowing a motor to do that. I called a fellow river rat that hoards items, like boat motors, to see if he had anything kicking around his stash that would suit my needs. Of course he does!

What I know:

Year - 1993
Make - Evinrude
Controls - Tiller
Engine - 2 stroke 30 hp
Starting - Electric
Shaft length - Short
Condition - Ran when put in the garage 3 years ago, or so the guy he bought it from says
Lower unit was replaced with a white Johnson housing that was new at one point, supposedly to the tune of $1000

Just picked it up last night, in the dark. My buddy would not take payment, he just told me what he paid and we would start there. $650 He said that he personally never ran the motor and didn't feel comfortable taking any money from me till I was able to hear it run.

What I discovered at upon pick up: (in the dark)

• Prop is trash ($100)

• Throttle is stiff (cable is $100)

• Engine is free

• Covered in grease and/or oil and needs a decrease and power-wash

• No airbox (not sure it ever had one)

• It has a single carb ($28 for a rebuild kit)

• Throttle grip is sticky ($37 for replacement)

• It's not too heavy to pickup by myself, but carrying it 100 feet was not what I would call easy

Plan of attack:
Purple Power and a power wash
See if I can save the throttle cable with a cleaning and some oil
see if my Johnson fuel tank fits and if it does pump some fuel into it and look for leaks
Check condition and level of lower unit
Test fire on stand with the muffs

If it fires, observe the condition of:
The fuel system
The water pump

If it does not fire:
check for spark
try a squirt of ether

If it runs but does not run well:
Carefully disassemble carb and clean it
Reassemble and install card and test again before placing order for carb kit

It's been sitting for years with a questionable history, what could possible go wrong?

 

[GYPSY400]

I would replace the impeller first off if you can get the motor to fire up.. then save up for a new prop.

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[MrGiggles]

At the bare minimum, do a compression test immediately once you get it on the stand.

If that checks out, see if it'll run at all. If it does, make sure it engages forward and reverse, and check the fluid in the lower unit. There's no sense in putting any work in a motor that's got a piston with a hole in it, or has a trashed lower unit.

If it's not pumping water, you can still run it for a couple minutes at a time, with adequate cool down periods between. The impeller is probably junk already, it will need replacing either way.

You'll have to check and see if the short shaft is going to work on your barge too, most pontoons take a 20 or 25" shaft.

 

[Weldorthemagnificent]

They are good motors. I have one, a 1983 35, same motor they changed from powerhead to propshaft HP somewhere around 85 so 30 is the same. I paid 400 Canadian for mine without being able to see it run. Replaced impeller and it fired up and ran great, been using it for 4 years. Its worth 7-800 here running, more if it's electric start. I'd try to start it, don't use ether. If it fires on fresh fuel mix and the pee stream looks good, I'd run fuel mix with seafoam through it. Then change the impeller so you know it's good. Decarbonizing with tune up spray is a good idea too. With a prop that looks like it was used to spread gravel on a driveway, I'd be replacing lower unit oil and watching carefully for leaks. And of course a new prop.

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[nccatfisher]

Your OMC fuel tank should work unless it is real old.

 

[checkoutmyjunk]

I would replace the impeller first off if you can get the motor to fire up.. then save up for a new prop.

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While one can't argue that replacing a water pump is always a good idea, I did not heed your advice and it was no problem in my case. Thank for the imput!

 

[checkoutmyjunk]

At the bare minimum, do a compression test immediately once you get it on the stand.

If that checks out, see if it'll run at all. If it does, make sure it engages forward and reverse, and check the fluid in the lower unit. There's no sense in putting any work in a motor that's got a piston with a hole in it, or has a trashed lower unit.

If it's not pumping water, you can still run it for a couple minutes at a time, with adequate cool down periods between. The impeller is probably junk already, it will need replacing either way.

You'll have to check and see if the short shaft is going to work on your barge too, most pontoons take a 20 or 25" shaft.

Again, good advice but I threw caution to the wind and did not check compression. It did pump water just fine, more on that later. While I agree with you that the toon will likely need a long shaft, I am pretty confidant that I can make this motor work. The thing about buying boats and motors is, you don't in the spring. I was left few reasonably priced tiller controlled options that are lite enough to install by myself. Also looking at the market, if this motor is a complete fail for the toon, I think I could get my money back pretty easily.

 

[checkoutmyjunk]

They are good motors. I have one, a 1983 35, same motor they changed from powerhead to propshaft HP somewhere around 85 so 30 is the same. I paid 400 Canadian for mine without being able to see it run. Replaced impeller and it fired up and ran great, been using it for 4 years. Its worth 7-800 here running, more if it's electric start. I'd try to start it, don't use ether. If it fires on fresh fuel mix and the pee stream looks good, I'd run fuel mix with seafoam through it. Then change the impeller so you know it's good. Decarbonizing with tune up spray is a good idea too. With a prop that looks like it was used to spread gravel on a driveway, I'd be replacing lower unit oil and watching carefully for leaks. And of course a new prop.

Sent from my CLT-L04 using Tapatalk

Prop is on order, should arrive later this week.

 

[checkoutmyjunk]

Your OMC fuel tank should work unless it is real old.

You sir are correct, popped on with a crisp snap!

 

[GYPSY400]

I would replace the impeller first off if you can get the motor to fire up.. then save up for a new prop.

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While one can't argue that replacing a water pump is always a good idea, I did not heed your advice and it was no problem in my case. Thank for the imput!

Yeah you can run the impeller the way it is.. The reason I recommend changing it is that it may fail halfway through the season, usually at the most inconvenient time. Ya never know, maybe the previous owner changed it last year.. or it's never been done.

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[checkoutmyjunk]

I had a decent result.

She was pretty gross under the cowl and I made no haste with the cleaning/power washing. I soaked and sprayed for several cycles till I found if to be acceptable. Next I pulled the plugs and cranked it over a few dozen times, Yes, YES, I know! that is just as bad for the impeller as running it dry. I was worried some water might have found it's way into the cylinder during the power washing session. Water does not compress.

I was using my cousin's power washer at his shop and he was feeling generous with his facilities so I raced home to grab my tank (1/4 mile). The tank from my 9.9 Johnson fit and when pumped up, there were zero leaks. I put the muffs on the water intake and it fired up with little trouble. Forward and reverse engaged with no problems. The throttle cable was still stiff, but much better.

I ordered a prop on ebay for $71 bucks, and hope to see it on Thursday. In the meantime it will sit in my garage till I can get it over to a local guy that tinkers with motors on the side to fine tune it.

Solas was the brand of prop I bought, any comments?

Lastly this will live on the toon, is there a brand lock that I should consider?

 

[checkoutmyjunk]

I would replace the impeller first off if you can get the motor to fire up.. then save up for a new prop.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

While one can't argue that replacing a water pump is always a good idea, I did not heed your advice and it was no problem in my case. Thank for the imput!

Yeah you can run the impeller the way it is.. The reason I recommend changing it is that it may fail halfway through the season, usually at the most inconvenient time. Ya never know, maybe the previous owner changed it last year.. or it's never been done.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

I agree, that is solid advice!

 

[GYPSY400]

Look like you ended up getting a good deal.. around here ( ontario canada) that motor would be double that price in running condition.

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[RaisedByWolves]

I had a decent result.

She was pretty gross under the cowl and I made no haste with the cleaning/power washing. I soaked and sprayed for several cycles till I found if to be acceptable. Next I pulled the plugs and cranked it over a few dozen times, Yes, YES, I know! that is just as bad for the impeller as running it dry. I was worried some water might have found it's way into the cylinder during the power washing session. Water does not compress.

I was using my cousin's power washer at his shop and he was feeling generous with his facilities so I raced home to grab my tank (1/4 mile). The tank from my 9.9 Johnson fit and when pumped up, there were zero leaks. I put the muffs on the water intake and it fired up with little trouble. Forward and reverse engaged with no problems. The throttle cable was still stiff, but much better.

I ordered a prop on ebay for $71 bucks, and hope to see it on Thursday. In the meantime it will sit in my garage till I can get it over to a local guy that tinkers with motors on the side to fine tune it.

Solas was the brand of prop I bought, any comments?

Lastly this will live on the toon, is there a brand lock that I should consider?

I hope you’re left handed, because you’re about to lose your right.

 

[checkoutmyjunk]

I hope you’re left handed, because you’re about to lose your right.

That is not me! I was cringing when I saw him put his hand there. I was using his muffs and they are a bit junky, he had to pinch them to get the water up to the pump. I can assure you that no digits were lost in the production of this thread.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

:wink:

 

[checkoutmyjunk]

Against my better judgement, I took the motor out to the barge without thorough testing on the engine stand. In the water it fired up easily and had a little trouble with the idle. Then after a few revs it started to back fire every 20ish seconds. It would make a pssst sound, shudder and then smooth out. It seemed to work fine at speed.

So I pulled it off and loaded back in my boat to take it to the mechanic. I assume the carb needs cleaned and fresh gaskets.

I did manage to install the prop before I put it in the water. The solas prop fit like a glove so it has that going for it.

 

[jasper60103]

Against my better judgement, I took the motor out to the barge without thorough testing on the engine stand. In the water it fired up easily and had a little trouble with the idle. Then after a few revs it started to back fire every 20ish seconds. It would make a pssst sound, shudder and then smooth out. It seemed to work fine at speed.

So I pulled it off and loaded back in my boat to take it to the mechanic. I assume the carb needs cleaned and fresh gaskets.

I did manage to install the prop before I put it in the water. The solas prop fit like a glove so it has that going for it.

I ran my '88 30 HP Johnson for several years w/o having problems.
Then after a couple finicky seasons, I finally gave up on it.
I wasn't fishing anymore. Just out troubleshooting. I took it to an old school 2 stroke mechanic, but he
couldn't fix right it either. Hopefully it works out for you. I liked it a lot when it ran reliably.

 

[GYPSY400]

Against my better judgement, I took the motor out to the barge without thorough testing on the engine stand. In the water it fired up easily and had a little trouble with the idle. Then after a few revs it started to back fire every 20ish seconds. It would make a pssst sound, shudder and then smooth out. It seemed to work fine at speed.

So I pulled it off and loaded back in my boat to take it to the mechanic. I assume the carb needs cleaned and fresh gaskets.

I did manage to install the prop before I put it in the water. The solas prop fit like a glove so it has that going for it.

I would have gave it a good run with Seafoam in the gas.. that hesitation may have smoothed out after it ran for a bit.. if it idles and gets to full rip it may just need a little tweaking.

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[checkoutmyjunk]

Mechanic buddy says it was misting fuel in the intake and igniting. He said after dark was the best way to see. He thinks is a gasket that failed and is going to give that a shot.

I will report back when I know