Trouble with 1989 50hp

1st post on the forums but have always looked to this website for answers on all my boating questions. I have looked and looked for a answer for this question or issue with no luck. So I have a 1989 50hp evinrude on a 17ft tracker. Got it from a family friend not to long ago. I took carbs off and cleaned them and put Ngk plugs in. The motor runs fine at idle maybe a little rough but not to terrible. The issue I have is when I go from idle to WOT the motor will hesitate a lot. Sometime will sit there for 10 to 15 seconds before actually starting to get up in RPM. But it does not always do this. Sometime it's just a small hesitation. I made sure the carbs were clean and put the champion spark plugs back in. Still runs the same. Seems to run a little better with champions but nothing extreme. Anyone have an answer for this issue? Prop was also shot so I have a new one on the way. But don't think that could be the issue

The timer base under the flywheel that advances and retards the spark..... With the engine NOT running, have someone advance the throttle slowly while you observe the timer base to see if it is sticking momentarily, then slowly advancing instead of snapping quickly to the advance position as it should.

Thanks for the reply. And I just checked it and if I'm looking at the right thing it looks likes about 0 to half throttle it goes forward then from 1/2 throttle to 3/4 it does not move and from 3/4 to WOP it moves a little more forward

It does seem to be sticking. Is there any other way to clean it besides pulling the flywheel?

Freshandsalty said:

It does seem to be sticking. Is there any other way to clean it besides pulling the flywheel?

Click to expand...

In a word... No!

Remove the flywheel, then remove the four retaining clamps that retain the timer base. Disconnect the goofy looking linkage from the timer base and remove the timer base from the powewrhead. Clean the nylon retaining ring and the groove thoroughly as well as the seating area on the powerhead.

Use grease "ONLY" on the brass bushing area!

On the nylon retaining ring, use "ONLY" oil..... DO NOT apply any grease to that nylon ring as that collects debris and leads to the sticking problem.

When tightening the four retaining clamp screws (Linkage Still Disconnected), check to make sure that you can easily move the timer base from one extreme to the other. If sticking is encountered when tightening any clamp, either pry the clamp up ever so slightly OR insert a very thin washer under the offending clamp.

Okay so an update... I went to hardware store and bought a puller. I took the flywheel nut off but not all the way. I put the puller on and tightened it up to the point where I couldn't anymore and gave it a few solid whacks with a hammer. Didn't budge. I messed with it for a good hour. Still nothing. I tightened the puller down to the point where I broke the puller. So I sprayed penetrating oil on the shaft and going to go get another puller tomorrow and try it again. Any advice?

Align the flywheel key with the top of the cylinder block. Then put a crow bar on the block and put upward pressure underneath the flywheel when giving the puller a wack with a hammer.

Yep, what Boobie said.

Thanks guys, so an update is I got the flywheel off thanks to you guys, surprisingly it was actually clean underneath. I still cleaned all the old stuff off and put some oil and a little grease on it in the correct places as noted above. And when I put it all back together I torqued the flywheel to 125 foot pounds. I then did the test again with the throttle. It seemed to have gotten better and is no longer sticking. But not a huge difference from before. I'm going to take it out this weekend and test. I also took another look at the carbs and noticed the jet in the front of the carb which is the air jet I guess? It's a #40. Is that the right size? And if the motor still has the hesitation any other ideas on what it could be? Thanks again

Loosen and retorque the flywheel nut to 105 foot pounds.... 125 is running the risk of having the flywheel taper spread.

Freshandsalty said:

1989 50hp evinrude on a 17ft tracker. I took carbs off and cleaned them and put NGK plugs in.

Click to expand...

Glad to hear you got the timer linkage cleaned, adjusted, and lubed. Hopefully that takes care of the acceleration problem.

My experience has been that cross referenced spark plugs just don't work well in Johnson/Evinrude outboards. The only long lasting, consistent performance I have had is when using the correct Champion spark plug. Don't get me wrong, NGK is a good plug and I use them in my jet skis with ZERO issues, but for whatever reason, the only plugs that have worked well in my outboards has been Champions.

The charts show the proper plug for your '89 50HP is a Champion QL78YC. I would suggest you replace the NGK plugs with these. Usually Wal-Mart will carry these in the marine section.

KJ

Thanks guys for the replys been busy at work. So I got the chance to take the boat out today and the same issue occurred. But this time it was really bad. I went from 1/4 throttle to WOP and literally the motor bogged down for about 5 to 10 minutes and finally kicked in and got on a plane. I looked through everything and couldn't find anything. I went to the auto parts store and got some plug wires and new NGK plugs. I know the champion plugs are recommended but no one around me seems to have the part number I need for them so ngk have to work for now. But here's the thing.... I pulled a line from the fuel system and squirted some fuel in a bottle and let it sit for a minute and noticed that in the bottom on the bottle there was a orange gooey substance quite a bit of it. I then drained the bowls on the carb and seen it in there as well. So I'm wondering if this could be the issue? I have a fuel filter which doesn't seem to stop it and I have no water/fuel serperator. So what is that substance? And what should I do/get? Thanks guys

Also forgot to add that the fuel tank in the boat is nearly brand new. And fuel lines are all new except for the one that goes from the front of the engine to the fuel pump.

I don't know what your orange gooey substance could be BUT it certainly doesn't belong in those carburetors. The brass fixed high speed jet lays horizontal in the "bottom" center portion of the float chamber, way in back of the drain screw. That gooey stuff trying to get through that jet would result in a hesitation.