What to watch out for: 1990(ish) 15hp Johnson

[Bantou]

No joy on the parts motor. It’s old enough that it has a totally different carb on it.

I’m debating just slapping some fuel safe RTV on it and rolling on for now. It’s not like it will be that hard to pull the carb and replace the nozzle well later if it becomes an issue.

 

[oilsmoke]

If the hood lying on the ground in the video is original to that motor, its likely a 1987 model.
That carb style started in mid to late 1987 and ran from then on for the 9.9 and 15hp.
Earlier models all used the older, all metal one piece body type carb.
I've got one 1987 here like that, all my other motors are the older style, most being in the 1980-85 range.
I don't think I've had any of the older carbs with any severe corrosion.

 

[Bantou]

It’s an 88 model according to the title. Could I use the older style carb on it? Not sure I can even rebuild the Evinrude carb due to corrosion. I suspect the motor was either sunk or allowed to fill with water at some point because of the sand and rust in it.

 

[wmk0002]

Do you have an ultrasonic cleaner? Those things can work miracles sometimes, especially if you have a concentrated cleaning solution and crank the heater on them up all the way.

On those motors I'm pretty sure you could use the older style carb....at least temporarily in order to see if you can get it going, then you could invest in a new correct carb (or preferably a used one in good shape for waaaay cheaper).

 

[Bantou]

I don’t have an ultrasonic cleaner but they aren’t that hard to rig up. Last time I needed one, I used a vibrating brass tumbler and scalding hot water. It worked surprisingly well all things considered.

I’m really surprised that somebody hasn’t started making parts for these motors. There are enough of them still running that there has got to be a market for it.

 

[Bantou]

IT IS ALIVEEE! I was able to find a replacement nozzle well. Mine is part number 0396605 and is listed as discontinued on all of the major parts websites. 0397189 is a direct replacement. Took me a lot of searching and a couple of nudges in the right direction from members here, but I got it figured out.

I rebuilt the carb this evening, got it re-installed, and gave the motor a test fire. It runs and sounds 1000x better than it did in the video. I need to do some tuning but it runs as long as a little throttle is supplied. I left my muffs in my personal truck and brought the company truck home though so the fine tuning will have to wait for another day. Once I have the muffs on, I'll post a video of it running.

 

[Bantou]

View attachment IMG_8767.mov
View attachment IMG_8766.mov

 

[Bantou]

View attachment IMG_8768.mov
Picked up a little bit of a miss as it warmed up. Plugs looked ok and had good spark so I didn’t change them. I think it’s a timing issue but I’m going to change the plugs first and see if that fixes it.