9.5 hp Evinrude – how to determine if its worth fixing

Home Forum Ask A Member 9.5 hp Evinrude – how to determine if its worth fixing

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  • jay

    US Member - 2 Years
    Replies: 21
    Topics: 6
    #4862

    I picked up a 9.5 Evinrude the other day. I have one of these that runs like a champ but has a broken recoil so the one I picked up can provide that as a part if needed.

    What I am trying to determine is if this "parts" motor is worth repairing? I quickly tested compression and got 60ish in each cylinder. The shift lever is broken and I am not sure if it goes into gear or not. Also the throttle shaft is slipping out so that needs repair of some sort. I stuck some spark testers on there and got no spark.

    It would be nice to stick on the back of the fishing rowboat I use with my son, but the 4hp on there does the job so nothing desperate.

    I guess what I am looking for is what the smart folks on this board who have more experience than I and who were looking at a motor and considering bringing it back to running status would do in order to rule in or out fixing it?

    Thanks again for all the help you have given over the years.


    beerman57


    Replies: 596
    Topics: 126
    #41091

    They are OK to the point where major disassembly is required, then you’ll see what "fun" is!


    Steve A W

    US Member - 2 Years
    Replies: 761
    Topics: 52
    #41092

    It seems the compression is kinda low.
    That and all the other problems I’d use it for parts
    and see if anybody can use whats left.

    Steve A W

    Member of the MOB chapter.
    I live in Northwest Indiana


    theodore


    Replies: 74
    Topics: 9
    #41094

    I’m no expert, but 60 could be an acceptable number. I met someone who said he started them by hand. Once they were set up properly, you put your palm on top of the flywheel, gave it a twist, and it was running. Probably couldn’t do that with 120 lbs compression.

    If 60 IS normal, that might explain why they are "a terrific 7.5 hp motor".


    david-bartlett


    Replies: 1204
    Topics: 97
    #41095

    60 psi may be ok if it was done quickly using the reduction gear recoil instead of wrapping rope around flywheel. I can usually get a bit more with a faster spin, however the broken shift lever and throttle linkage issues can run into $$$$$ on these motors. Proceed slowly.


    johnyrude200


    Replies: 782
    Topics: 186
    #41099

    I work on about 40 of these motors annually, and sell them to customers with a 30-day coverage (really more than that) back up. I work on them when they have been swamped, when they are severely moused, when they are completely beat to heck. They are great little motors but a labor of love.

    3 things I will say that make them NOT WORTH rehabbing.

    1. If the drive shaft is stuck in the crank, don’t bother fixing it unless you have a lot of time, patience, and parts on your rack to replace things.
    2. If the compression is below 60-65 using an electric drill gun AFTER running fogging oil through the intake for 30 seconds, the powerhead is cooked. Don’t use the manual starter to measure compression. At the minimum, rope start the motor and test that way. It will take 4-6 rope pulls (wrapped around at least 2.5 times, the more the easier for your shoulder).
    3. Don’t try to fix it if it’s badly affected by salt water. If you have to repair anything important, you have to remove around 12 fasteners to split the lower cowel, and although you can drill everything out if necessary, it’s nothing short of a nightmare (not even the right adjective to describe how bad it is) to get at what you want if things are really stuck. I’ve spent, literally, 6 hours getting the lower cowels split apart before just to change out the lower skirt due to exhaust leakage. Umm….a lot of other things I can do with that time…and resale value on one of these motors, 100% correct, isn’t worth 6 hours of my time!

    From the way you describe your motor, none of those things really sound that bad. But if it stalls out with the cover on at anything less than 1/2 throttle, get ready to start pulling the whole thing apart, assuming your impeller housing grommet is present and in tact! Also make sure the exhaust relief rubber tube is secured (seen inside motor pan, with the giant hose clamp that is a nightmare to get back on if removed).

    I will say that I save these motors for the winter when the season is slow, because I generally put aside 12-20 hours of labor for bad case examples. Normal wear and tear examples are the same time to repair as any other one. I mentally expect it to be a PIA to fix a bad example of these. I guess a #4 point would be if the stern bracket is all beat to heck, because as nifty as the lockdown function in neutral/reverse is, it is also an extremely common feature that has failed after 50 years of existence, which generally presents issues because if the motor is stuck in lock down while in forward, most boaters who don’t realize all you have to do is reach down and pull the lockdown latch out of the way (particularly SAILERS) get pretty upset in a hurry.

    They also need to have the shift linkage perfect otherwise they will jump out of gear fairly easily. A 1/8th adjustment is like night and day. And general every day people have no clue how to understand this adjustment.

    But remember….

    Still love these motors…..


    fleetwin

    US Member - 2 Years
    Replies: 4737
    Topics: 46
    #41114

    Jay
    It is kind of tough to advise you on this engine…Guys usually love or hate these things. I guess they are like many other engines, once you have worked on a bunch of them, you figure them out and get used to them. Nonetheless, I surely don’t want to condemn this engine without even seeing it.
    Like everyone else says, if it is a salt water engine, you may want to save it for parts.
    Does it show any evidence of black exhaust soot under the engine cover? If so, there may be exhaust leaking back up into the engine pan, which is a bad sign. Repairing this problem usually means splitting those engine pans setting scores of washers/spacers/springs and mounts free to fall all over your shop floor.
    You mention low compression numbers, but I wouldn’t get too concerned until you try to run the engine a bit and retest. Have you changed the gear lube? The gearcase is probably toast if it is full of water, or has no lube in it. Like Johnyrude says, don’t get too far into this project without attempting to remove the gearcase to see if the driveshaft is stuck into the crank splines.
    Finally, engine mount problems are common with these things. So, try rocking the powerhead back and forth/side to side in the engine pan to see if there are any obvious problems with the mounts. Once again, bad mounts means splitting those engine pans.
    So, invest a few hours of your time investigating this engine’s trouble areas before getting in too deep. Hopefully, a new impeller and recoil will give you another engine to use!


    jay

    US Member - 2 Years
    Replies: 21
    Topics: 6
    #41118

    Thank you –
    I don’t think its a saltwater motor, but I will look it over again and see how the fittings are.
    My compression test was with the recoil starter, so 60psi might be low but ok?
    I should check the following –
    Test engine mounts by rocking back and forth/side to side
    Remove gear lube and check if full of water
    Remove gearcase to check to see if driveshaft is stuck in crank splines.
    Check stern bracket.

    Thanks again – I’ll try these things, though the weather is nice and my 8 year old wants to go fishing so it might not be right away 😀

    Jay


    dougs-outboards


    Replies: 110
    Topics: 9
    #41144

    60 might not be too low. I have worked on approx 35 motors of this hp, and I did not get over 70 psi on any one, but most of them ended up running great. Perhaps the comp might come up after it’s run awhile. Evidently these were lower comp motors.


    rmhxruss


    Replies: 145
    Topics: 6
    #41145

    Found out that Harbor Freight Compression gauges tend to read low. How is your gauge.

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