Can I rebuild the carburator on an old Evenrude 65 hp O/B?

[CatFisher]

Hello, LOU community!

Thank you in advance for considering my post!

Here's the position I'm in, and I'm hoping someone here can help me decide what to do. Basically, we have purchased an old 1975 MFG Gypsy boat and a 65 hp Evenrude outboard motor. The boat is in great shape for it's age, and I had the motor mounted and looked over by a professional marine mechanic. He has told me that the motor is in great condition mechanically, except that it needs the lower carburator rebuilt, and the fuel pump rebuilt. He estimates that it will take him 4 to 5 hours in labor at about $40/hour, which is getting to be a little steep for my slim budget.

So my somewhat loaded question to the LOU community is: can I rebuild the carburator and fuel pump myself, or should I let the professional mechanic do it? Can anyone help me understand what this job really entails, and what specialised skills and tools does a job like this require? I am certainly not a mechanic, but I'm reasonably mechanically inclined and experienced, and I have access to the all of common hand tools I already know I'd need to try this myself. I also know I can order an original repair manual from eBay just as soon as I find out the exact year of the motor, which I do know is a late 70's to early 80's vintage. If I try it myself, can members here at LOU help me through the process, or at least when I get into trouble? Any insight to this project would be greatly appreciated!

Or, can anyone recommenced a qualified mechanic who might be willing to do the work for less than $40/hour?

Any advice would be really helpful to some newbie boaters; thanks again to everyone who considers my questions!

-CatFisher

[rolmops]

Yes you can do it yourself.

If it takes that guy 4 to 5 hours to rebuilt a carburetor and a fuel pump,he must be taking a very long coffee break.

If something is wrong with the fuel pump you can buy a kit for around $20 online and for carburetor rebuild,you can get a carb kit for less than that.The fuel pump is very simple and the carburetor is a bit more involved because you need to make sure that all the small passages are open.

If you want a good mechanic ,your guy is Bill Mayer at Mayers marine(tel#323-1010) at the Irondeqoit Bay outlet. He will charge $40 an hour ,but he will do it in about one hour.He opens shop on April first.

[CatFisher]

Hello again, rolmops!

Thanks again for your prompt and knowledgeable reply to my post. I am fairly confident I can do this job myself. I have looked at the rebuild kits available, and I know the parts are rather inexpensive. Can you, or other member of the LOU community, help me when I need it? Is there a good online resource that would help me through this project, like a how to or video or anything?

Thanks for your help!

-CatFisher

[rolmops]

There is a small plate on the transom bracket with the model# and the serial # .Let me know what it is and I will tell you the the year.

[CatFisher]

There is a small plate on the transom bracket with the model# and the serial # .Let me know what it is and I will tell you the the year.

Right, I just need to get it home from the shop so I can get that number I'm hoping to pick up the boat later today or tomorrow, and I'll post again with the year of the motor.

Also, I've read that Sierra brand rebuild kits come with excellent instructions. Is that true, or is there another kit to buy that may be better?

Your help is always greatly appreciated! Thanks again!

-CatFisher

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[LongLine]

Fuel pump is a piece of cake. One thing I'd recomend for anyone working on an outboard, if it isn't your livelihood...take a picture or two or three as you disassemble things. Digital is cheap.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[CatFisher]

Fuel pump is a piece of cake. One thing I'd recomend for anyone working on an outboard, if it isn't your livelihood...take a picture or two or three as you disassemble things. Digital is cheap.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

That's great advice, thank you, Tom! I was already planning on having the camera nearby as I remove things, since there is no way I can trust myself to remember it all. Hopefully this way I should have fewer problems during reassembly.

Thank you again for your input!

-CatFisher

[CatFisher]

And for rolmops, or anyone else who may be able to help me out:

I brought the boat home tonight. The motor is a 65 hp Evinrude, the model number is 652738 and the serial number is JO13542. I'm pretty sure this is a 1972 motor, but I'd appreciate it if someone can confirm this for me; I'd like to get the carb and fuel pump kit ordered up tonight.

Oh, my mechanic said that the Sierra brand parts and kits are definitely high quality. That's what he was going to use, and that's what I think I'll order.

Thanks very much!

-CatFisher

[CatFisher]

Sorry, just two more question at the moment: The mechanic told me only the lower one of the three carbs needs to be rebuilt, but should I go ahead a do them all or just the one?

And, I'm sorry in advance if this is a stupid question, does my motor have only the one fuel pump? I think so, but I want to be sure so I can get some rebuild kits ordered up.

Thanks again, this is a HUGE help to me, and I very much appreciate it!

-CatFisher

[L&M]

Engine is a 1972 hydro/elect. shift. One fuel pump & I would recommend doing all three carbs at the same time.

[CatFisher]

Engine is a 1972 hydro/elect. shift. One fuel pump & I would recommend doing all three carbs at the same time.

That's great, thank you, L&M! I think I can order my rebuild kits now.

Thanks again for your help!

-CatFisher

[rolmops]

Engine is a 1972 hydro/elect. shift. One fuel pump & I would recommend doing all three carbs at the same time.

I would add to that replacement of all the fuel lines in the engine area.They may still be the old alcohol sensitive material.

[CatFisher]

Engine is a 1972 hydro/elect. shift. One fuel pump & I would recommend doing all three carbs at the same time.

I would add to that replacement of all the fuel lines in the engine area.They may still be the old alcohol sensitive material.

Thank you again, rolmops! The mechanic that looked over my motor suggested that too. I'm placing an order for the carb and fuel pump rebuild kits, and I looked at fuel lines too, but I only saw a 25 foot roll of it. I'll try looking locally for some place that would sell me just enough to redo my motor.

Thanks a lot for your help, and I'll post again when the rebuild kits come in!

-CatFisher

[CatFisher]

Hello again, everyone!

My carb rebuild kits came today. The kits do include instructions on the rebuild process, but not on how to remove the carbs from the powerhead. I'm hoping someone can give me some pointers as to where to get started on the carb removal process. For example, do I need to remove the throttle and/or choke linkages before I remove the carbs from the motor? Obviously, I'd like to avoid disassembling more than I have to. Any suggestions, tips, or comments would be very welcome and appreciated!

Just to refresh everyone's memory, this is a 1972 Evinrude 65 hp outboard with three carbs.

Thank you very much for your help!

-CatFisher

[rolmops]

http://www.ishopmarine.com/ishop/jsp/As ... 100-005-EJ

At this point it is really a smart idea to use a manufacturer's service manual and my advice would be to wait until you have it.

Anyway,here is how you start.

Disconnect the battery cables from the engine.

Here is a print of your intake manifold,you can play with the buttons until you get a nice big print that has no parts numbers section on the screen.On the top you find the air intake.Start by carefully removing all those parts.when you are finished you can see all three carbs. Now take a felt tip and mark the carbs as high, middle and low. this is important because they must be returned to their original location. Now make sure that you disconnect the main fuel line from the fuel pump.Looking at the carbs you will see that every carb is connected to the intake manifold with 2 bolts and nuts. they are probably 1/2 inch or 9/16th heads. take an open wrench and loosen them all,but do not take the nuts off just yet.(it should be quite easy to loosen them.) Now carefully disconnect the manual choke rod.( the electric choke rod usually falls out so make sure you see where it is situated When you can move all the nuts by hand take them off starting from the bottom carb with a magnet in your hand so the nuts will cling to the magnet.(fishing for nuts in a dirty engine cowling is not easy).when all the nuts are off you should be able to just take all the carbs off the studs. Now lay them on a clean peace of cloth or paper and take a picture. Next take off the connecting rods and the fuel lines and put every carb in a baggy which is also marked high middle and low.

good luck.

[CatFisher]

Thanks again for your advice, rolmops! I would like to have a manual anyway. I know the Selocs are not that informative (I had one of them before), but I can't seem to find an original manual for my motor for a reasonable price. Can you recommend a brand or publisher I should look for? I'm tempted to order this downloadable version tonight, just to get me going on the carbs. Does anyone know if this would be worth the $20, or should I wait and try to find an original factory manual?

https://www.repairmanualdownloads.com/productdetail-355-28.htm

Thanks very much!

-CatFisher

[CatFisher]

OK, moving along I've got the carbs off the motor, and marked top, mid, and lower as rolmops suggested in his previous post. I've started to disassemble just the lower carb tonight, and I do have some more questions, please.

First, I'd like to replace all the fuel lines on the motor. Can someone suggest a place where I should look for fuel lines local to Rochester, NY and in a small quantity, not a huge 25 foot roll?

How far do I have to disassemble the carbs? Is it necessary to remove the throttle and/or choke armature, rod, and return springs? Do I really have to pop out the metal core plugs in the body of the carb? If so, how do I reinstall them, just drive them in?

My high speed needle valve appears to be fixed, but I'm not sure. Can someone tell me if it can or needs to be removed from the carb body?

I expected my rebuild kits to include a new slow speed needle valve, but they do not. Is it OK to reuse the old needle valve?

The rebuild kit does include a float needle, seat, and gasket assembly. The kit also includes a wire retainer clip of some kind that goes with the float needle assembly. However, the carb I disassembled did not have this clip in place, nor does the clip appear in the diagram on the instructions provided with the kits. Should I use the wire retainer, and if so how does it go on?

Last, and maybe this is nothing important, but the pin-float hinge on my carb, and in the diagram included with the rebuild kits, is nylon and has an expanded end that prevents the pin from travelling all the way through hinge holes. However, the new pin included with the kit is brass and is just a plain rod that seems like it would slip in and out of the hinge holes. Would you suggest I reuse the old, nylon pin, or try the new brass one?

I'm sorry to be asking so many tedious questions, but I just really want this to go right. I hope I've been descriptive enough with my questions, but I can post pics of the parts in question if that would be a help to anyone. As always, your help with my project would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks again!

-CatFisher

[rolmops]

The Sierra kits that you bought are not OMC and they will differ slightly from the originals.You can mix and match with the older parts that are in good shape.

The retainer clip holds the float needle in place. If you look at the needle you can see where you can clip it on and then the other ,longer part goes around the float part where the needle sits.It is however not a tight fit.

You should pop the plugs.You can just take a small screw driver and punch through the middle with the help of a hammer and pull them off.That way you have access to the tiny passages. Anything rubber must be removed and the jets should be marked and removed to make sure they go back to the same place that they came from

You should soak the carbs and parts in carburetor cleaner fluid for a few hours and then let them air dry.(some people spray everything with "Dragon Breath") When that is done ,just put them back together and if you did everything properly you should be fine.

There are a few you tubes on the net that will show you how to do everything, but you should by now have gotten a manual.

[CatFisher]

Hello, again!

Further progress; I've removed, disassembled, cleaned, reassembled, and reinstalled the carbs. Although I understand it's preferable to remove the core plugs, based on prior posts I've read, and the overall cleanliness of my carbs, I chose not to remove the plugs. However, if I was to do this again in the future, how would I go about reinstalling the plugs; That's the part I don't understand. I believe OMC calls for some kind of sealant, but I don't know where to get it. Also, do I place the new plug over the hole and just drive it in with a hammer and something like a wooden dowel? And which way should the new plug face on installation, dome side up or down?

Based on the information I've gathered reading other posts, I tested my rebuild job on each carb by connecting a piece of clean fuel line to the carb, and while holding the carb upright I blow a breath of air into the fuel line, which passed through the carb as it should. With the carb in it's inverted position, I was unable to blow any air through the carb as expected. The theory behind this test is that the float and needle are presumed to be working correctly if the airflow is limited when the carb is inverted. Based on this and this alone, I concluded the carbs were at least worth a test, and I reinstalled them on the powerhead.

A few notes/questions about the carbs, though; First, I opted not to install the wire needle retainer clip on the float needle. I did not see the clip pictured in the Sierra instructions, in the OMC manual I currently have (which is for motors starting from 1973), or, most importantly, on my carbs as they were originally. Last, I found I really had to force the slow speed needle through it's plastic retainer. I assume this has to be done to prevent the needle from wandering, but it came as a surprise to me. I hope I've done the right things here....

I also removed, disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled the fuel pump using as many new parts from the Sierra fuel pump rebuild kit as I could match up. The fuel pump was a little tedious, with springs and gaskets that must be seated just right. I am about 98% sure I have everything reassembled correctly, but I'm curious if anyone knows a good procedure to test the functionality of the fuel pump? I have read in a manual that the fuel pump may be connected to some kind of a pressure gauge, and then I believe these pumps should be outputting about 5 to 7 psi if they are functioning correctly. Can anyone confirm this, and can anyone tell me where I can get such a gauge? Harbour Freight, perhaps?

Additionally, I chose to replace the three main fuel lines, and as well as the smaller fuel lines connecting the three carbs. Unfortunately, I managed to brake the plastic "Tee" fitting that connects the three fuel lines at the middle carb. I'll be making a run to the auto parts store for that piece in the morning.

With that last "Tee" fitting in place, I believe I'm ready for at least a trial start. Does anyone have any comments, suggestions, or Voodoo rituals I should preform to ensure success? Perhaps splash a little oil over each shoulder before turning the key??

Thanks again to those that have been following along, and thanks in particular to rolmops for your prompt and sound advice; it is very much appreciated!!

-CatFisher

[CatFisher]

Hi all!

Well, I got everything reconnected today, gave it a try, and nothing It just seems like it's not getting gas, and I suspected perhaps I didn't do the fuel pump correctly. I'm not sure the best way to test a fuel pump, but I tried to attach a longer piece of fuel line to the output of the fuel pump, and I ran that line into a bucket. I cranked the motor a few seconds, and gas was pumped into the bucket. Obviously that can't be the most effective way to test the viability of the fuel pump, but it does seem like the pump is working. Can anyone advise me on a better way to test the fuel pump? And in general how can I go about troubleshooting whatever is preventing the motor from starting? I have been assured by my mechanic that the motor does in fact run (it ran for him), it does have good compression in all three cylinders, and the ignition system is good. The problem is likely in the fuel system, and almost certainly something I've done recently. I'd appreciate any suggestions or advice.

Thank you for your help!

-CatFisher

[W.W.IV.]

Spray a little gas into the carbs, and see if it will fire. Did you check the fuel air mix screw settings before you removed them?You may have to go back through the carbs and check the settings like on the floats and make sure the floats are good. Good luck.

[CatFisher]

Spray a little gas into the carbs, and see if it will fire. Did you check the fuel air mix screw settings before you removed them?You may have to go back through the carbs and check the settings like on the floats and make sure the floats are good. Good luck.

Hello, W.W.IV.!

Thanks for your input. In fact, I did try spraying gas in the carbs, and it did seem to fire just a little. However, I'm now wondering if it's getting flooded because I don't have the float or needle just right, although my carbs did pass the "blow" test described above. I have read in another post that I should try to tilt the motor to its full up position and squeeze the primer ball. Then, if gas flows out of the carbs I have a problem with the float/needle assembly. If not, then that's another indication that I've performed the carb rebuilds correctly. I'm going to give this "tilt" test a try and post my results in a few...

As for the slow speed needle, I followed the directions in the rebuild kit; I gently screwed the needle in until it stopped, then I backed it out one full turn. I also tried again today with them backed out a turn and a half.

Any more advice or suggestions would be very welcome! Thanks to everyone who has considered my motor issues!

-CatFisher

[CatFisher]

Ah success!!

A friend who is more experienced with these motors came by this afternoon and we were able to get it started. First, we performed the "tilt" test, and the carbs did not leak fuel, so I'm going to assume my rebuild job was successful. Then, we tried to start the motor, and at first nothing, but my friend soon realised that the choke was not operating correctly. With me cranking the motor he was able to manually adjust the choke and throttle right at the motor, and the darn thing fired right up. We now think I have some choke issues, such as a bad choke soleniod, and I think the slow speed needles need to be fine tuned, stuff like that. But from what we can tell the rebuild of the carbs and fuel pump went well, and it looks like I'm down to tune up issues at this point.

I definitely want to thank everyone who helped me on this project! And in particular, thank you rolmops for all your time and replies, I really appreciate your help! I'm sure I'll have lots more questions about tuning up the motor, but I'll address those separately as they occur. For now, I think my original carb and fuel pump issue is basically solved. Almost time to go fishing

Thanks again!!

-CatFisher

[W.W.IV.]

[CatFisher]

LOL, already celebrating

Thanks, W.W.IV.

-CatFisher