RIP 1977 Evinrude 140 two stroke...

[Lance Pearson]

One of the things I thought would likely need changing when I bought the boat to modernize it was the engine which matched the boat's age. Did not know when last run or how well. Took it to a dealer who ran compression on it and pull down with compressed air and it failed miserably. Cylinder pressures would have maybe made it run but they were all over the place 20 psi apart and it looked like two of the four cylinders had been worse. The mechanic said it looked to him like the motor had been overheated so we decided it was not worth trying to rebuild it which they flat refused to do saying it was a sort of foolish effort on an engine of that age which was also relatively inefficient when done if it even worked any better.

Fortunately, what I have in the boat allowed for that when I offered and bought it.

They had a superb Etec 175 2008 with low hours from a 21' bass boat where the owner just traded it for same thing but new to get another long term warranty. His price initially was too high but two days later with continued negotiation he got his price well down and included all the new parts like controls, cables, etc. tach and labor to put it on my boat and they removed the old one which will go to the scrap yard since existing would not work and we shook hands. They are putting it on the boat as part of their list this week and next as the parts come in and they fix the rest of the list..pull side tanks, remove any filter screens, new fuel hose, add spin on fuel and water filter and all new fuel hoses so I know when they are good. Just waiting on parts for the motor part. 20" size which will fit the transom..that's what came off it. The boat will have quite a bit more power with the big v6 two stroke with oil tank, fuel injection and tons of torque without the weight of a similar four stroke.

A reasonable compromise on his part and mine and I know exactly where the motor has been and he has taken care of it for the owner. It looks brand new. Did not ask about the hours preferring a known entity versus buying off ads, etc.

When it comes back all I have to to do to use it is add the vhf and gps/chart/sonar unit and the swim platform/ladder on one side, weather permitting.

Getting there....clean gelcoat and polish is last. The lights are all led bulbs now and I have two busses for negative and fused with spade fuses for the new items.

By late spring when weather permits we should be boating.

Lance

[phatdaddy]

Being a 20" , I'm guessing it has the double cuts in the transom. Might be a good time, while motor is off, to glass that seam instead of the factory aluminum strips.

What is the weight difference in the two motors?

[THEFERMANATOR]

The old v4 was around 290-300 lbs, the 175 etec is around 420 lbs. As to the compression on the old outboard, if it had been sitting any length of time, it needed to be started, warmed up, and decarboned BEFORE any compression tests were performed. I bet the numbers would greatly improve if that had been done.

[Lance Pearson]

I am aware of the weights and so on. The old engine had wildly different compression readings and he also did compressed air pull downs on it and confirmed that the engine had been severely overheated as well as quite probably scored cylinder walls. The new to me one is just a better engine in terms of power, fuel usage, etc. as well. It was not worth spending money on the 1977 V4 old tech two stroke given all that. Could a dedicated mechanic with the right tools clean it up? Possibly but I'm not that guy so without the knowledge I chose not to throw good money after bad to find out it was extremely dated anyway.

[Lance Pearson]

Yes, the aluminum cap will be removed and at the very least the top of the whole assembly will be coated with epoxy to keep it dry. The cockpit floor when a hole was drilled to mount a bilge access port was very solid and dry and the transom sounds very solid but to keep it that way I will seal the top of the transom then probably put the aluminum back on as a cap. Good idea.

[Lance Pearson]

Very accurate numbers given. The other alternative is a 4 stroke and for a 175 that number goes up to a ball busting, not going there, approximately 500 pounds approx. The 175 etec two stroke seems to me to be a fair compromise on power and performance with weight. It will use less fuel than the 1977 V4 two stroke would have used. I have decided to keep the two 20 gallon side saddle tanks and just carry a couple of 6 gallon spare tanks I can siphon into them for longer days until I know its usage pattern when it is done and ready to use. Still despite springlike days too early for boating here for me. April and late March will be different stories. 26F here this morning but wee had two days of 70 plus with that coming again..very much above normal temps at times but winter is not quite done here yet.

[bradford]

You won't need the spare 6 gallon cans with the ETEC.

Have them put on some aluminum transom supports when they hang the new engine.

[randlemanboater]

Congrats on the "new" engine.

[Lance Pearson]

Boat now back in storage and covered. It's been repowered with a 2008 etecc 175 hp with 300 hours in super shape and new busses, new vhf, new gps/chart/sonar with fuel tanks cleaned, new fuel hoses, new spin on fuel and water filter and runs like a scalded dog with a new prop just under 50 mph. I still have the cosmetics to do on the hull but it's sound and ready to use...new seats in and bulkhead opened so bilges drain correctly which they never did since Wellcraft never put the hole in! Access door put in and hole drilled and teak redone. It actually looks pretty good.

[Greyduk]

Post some pictures if you have any. I know everyone would like to see how it turned out. Sounds great!!