Reply To: 1973 6Hp Evinrude Fisherman hard starting cold

[Tom Bertulli]

Lots to think about here guys – so thanks a bunch. I’ll start by going over the carb again with particular attention to your suggestions. It will be a first if i find anything amiss because iv’e done these on larger motors for years and never had a problem. Boats are out of the water now so lake tests are scheduled for the spring but the barrel is still in the garage and has not frozen yet. I still would like to know if anyone has ever had reed problems with an OMC and what to look for. Bad reed would be a first for me but sounds like it would tick all the boxes.

To Fleetwin
Will check coil air gap on lower coil. I don’t have any tool for this and have always done it by moving the coil out until is just touches and then backing off a hair. Any better way?
Carb/ign sync is good . I already adjusted the cam on the mag plate to take all slack out of the linkage and the throttle just starts to open when the follower first touches the boss mark on the cam.
Will do a wire off test at full throttle when I get on the boat next, but spark is strong blue and reliable when cranked with the starter rope.
Fuel pump is new and LS needle has extra packing but is not really pointy like others I have seen. I thought a bit blunt might be normal for this motor. It does not look broken and no rings or marks from over tightening are visible on it but??? It’s running best at a about 2.5 turns out. PS I have a 1953 Evinrude Fleetwin of my dads that I will get to one of these days. It was put away in about 1980 but still pulls over nicely.

To Mumbles
I’ll try it after I redo the carb if the problem persists.

To Billw
I’d rather rebuild our OEM stuff with a $40 kit than trust a $10 all new part from China any day !!!

Cheers guys.