How to start up a 10 years unsed 150 evinrude

"Can anyone provide me with in

"Can anyone provide me with input on the proper ways to start up a 10 years unused 1991, 150 Evinrude? What pre-caution should I take and what potential problem(s) could I expect from an the engine sitting for 10 years unused?"

"Drain the gas and replace wit

"Drain the gas and replace with new. Be sure to flush out the supply lines to and from the VRO as well. Also, empty the VRO tank and fill with fresh oil.

Purchase carb rebuild kits, remove the carbs, flush, clear out, and soak all parts with carburetor cleaner using compressed air to blow through all orifices. Remove all jets and be sure they are completely clear of any debris or varnish. Reassemble using new needle valve and float. Now would also be a good time to replace all the fuel hose on the engine.

Drop the lower unit and at minimum install a new impeller if not the entire pump assembly. I had a neighbor that bought a boat with a Merc 20HP that had set for several years. The first time he took it out the engine overheated. He got back to the house only to find the impeller fins had scattered into a 1000 pieces and we had to repeatedly backflush the cooling lines to get all the little rubber chunks out of the engine.

You might consider replacing the thermostat (is there more than one on this engine?) just in case it is corroded shut.

Throw a new battery in the boat and ensure it is fully charged. Remove the plugs and spray some fogging oil in each of the cylinders. Then, while cranking the engine (with the plugs removed) spray some fogging oil in each of the carb throats. Rig up a spark tester and ensure that you have strong spark to each plug. When this is done, install new plugs.

Finally, just to be on the safe side, I would add some oil to the fuel tank (25:1 and maybe 5 gallons of fuel) to ensure you're getting some lubrication to the engine. I'm not familiar with VRO's but if something is bad on it you could quickly toast this engine. Once you've confirmed the VRO is operating properly, then you can fill the tank the rest of the way with straight gas and the little bit of oil left will be no problem at all.

Lube the tilt tube, run tilt/trim all the way up, remove the fill screw and make sure the reservoir is full then run through it's entire range a couple of times, check forward/reverse engage, and turn completely left and right to see if steering cable is ok. Fire it up on a hose to be sure everything is operating fine and once all is well, head to the lake and have some fune.

KJ"

"Hi Kevin,

Thanks for your

"Hi Kevin,

Thanks for your detail inputs which all made alot of sense with especially the replacing of thermostat, because my boat was used mainly in salt water for 2 years before dry docking it for 10 years. Thanks again...."

"One minor change to my sugges

"One minor change to my suggestion. Make the oil in the fuel tank 100:1, not 25:1. That should be be just enough oil at low idle to protect you in case the VRO is not operating properly. If the VRO is working you will only be slightly over oiling at the 100:1 ratio. If the tank were at 25:1 plus the VRO oil you'd foul those plugs in no time.

KJ"

"Hi Kevin, thx for the added i

"Hi Kevin, thx for the added input. One question I wished to ask is that should I spray some type of chemical into the spark-plug slots to loosen any scales set inside the pistons before trying to crank up the motor???"

"There might be some old carbo

"There might be some old carbon buildup, but you really shouldn't have any 'scales' on the pistons. I would just use the fogging oil. You can get just about any brand to spray in the cylinders and carbs. Pennzoil makes one, as do the manufacturers: Bombardier, Mercury, Yamaha, etc. and they all are pretty much the same stuff. If you were to use a decarbonizing product before starting the engine, you could run the risk of large chunks of carbon flaking off. In most instances this might not be a problem, but it's possible to wedge a piece of carbon between the piston and an exhaust/intake port and run the risk of scoring the cylinder wall. A decarb treatment after you're running and checked out would be okay, but I wouldn't suggest that on initial startup.

The reason I suggested the fogging oil is just to make sure you have a layer of oil covering the friction surfaces as you bring this engine back to life. Setting that long there is most likely enough oil to have protected the surfaces from moisture and corrosion but there won't be enough to protect from the friction of starting up. One thing you might do with the plugs removed is put a wrench on the flywheel locknut. As you turn the engine by hand with this wrench, spray the oil into each clynder. Once that's done, turn the engine over using the starter and spray the fogging oil into carb throats allowing the suction to pull the aspirated oil into the engine internals.

Some might say all this is a bit excessive, and even as I write it I think to myself it might be over the top. However, I'd rather be safe than sorry. Spending $10 on fogging oil and 30 minutes of time to ensure the engine is lubed is well worth the effort if it prevents the engine from being damaged.

One more thing on the engine oil. I would suggest you run Evinrude XD50 oil. It's a good semi-synthetic oil and will help that engine run clean. Plus, you can get it easily at your local Evinrude dealer.

KJ"

"Thx again, you been a great h

"Thx again, you been a great help and this forum will definitely save me alot of money.. Good to know the preventive measures..Have a good day"

"Definitely run some seafoam t

"Definitely run some seafoam through in a shock treatment method such as from: http://www.thehulltruth.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=20628&posts=5"

"Hi Andrew, So does that mean

"Hi Andrew, So does that mean I don't have to go thru the hassle of taking everything apart, such as carb, plugs etc to clean??? Seafoam will do the job???"

"Maybe, depends on if the carb

"Maybe, depends on if the carbs are clogged and if so, with what. If it is just gunk, you have a good chance of it clearing up. If there is actual particles and such, you're going to end up taking them apart. You might try unscrewing the lower big screw on the carb bowls and see what comes out. But the real thing where seafoam seems to shine is in cleaning out the cylinders of carbon.

Personally, with an engine which has not run in 10 years, I would rebuilt the carbs because the inlet needs which have sort of a rubber tip, might have conformed to the shape of the seal and no longer work properly. I would also replace the waterpump impellar as others suggested, as well as the thermostat. Then I would run the seafoam shock treatment to clean out anything else, included the carbon from the cylinders.

Good luck,

Andrew"

"There is absolutely NO WAY I

"There is absolutely NO WAY I would start this engine without first manually cleaning the carbs.

Yes, Seafoam will indeed do a great job of cleaning things. I have used Seafoam it in the past and it is a great product. However, the problem is that if you have a jet or orifice that is clogged with varish from evaporated fuel/oil, you'll have to wait until the seafoam eats at that material until it gets dissolved. Meanwhile, your engine is running without fuel flowing through that orifice/jet and who knows how lean it's running during that time.

At this point you have no idea if those carbs have any varnish or junk. The only way to ensure you will have no fuel flow issues is to clean the carbs youself, install new floats, needles, seats, and gaskets. The other problem is that Seafoam is NOT A LUBRICANT, it is a SOLVENT. That is why I suggest you first get the engine internals coated with fogging oil before starting. As the motor sets right now, you have ZERO lubrication. So, if you try and start the motor immediately on Seafoam shock fuel mixture, you're taking a motor with no lubrication and filling it with corrosive solvent. That does not sound good for bearings and pistons if you ask me.

Once you have the engine running, then the shock treatment would be okay. I would only do this once all systems are verified."

I totally agree with Kevin.

I totally agree with Kevin.

"Thanks Guys, I will take you

"Thanks Guys, I will take your advise to clean out the carb first before turning the engine over. It Fortunate that I am currently out of the country on business or else I would had proceeded and possiblity damaged the engine without knowing the damaging outcome, thanks again.....

Jeff"