1971 Evinrude-18 H.P.

[bdiddy]

I recently took a look at my grandfathers old 1971 Evinrude 18 HP and found that when I took the cover off of it-it looks immaculate, clean enough to eat off of. However--when I go to pull back on the cord to start it----IT WONT BUDGE!! Whats going on here? It starts to turn and the cord comes about about an inch but then there is a clicking noise and it locks up right there. Seems like this should be something simplesince the motor is like brand new-- but rather than delve into it and create bigger problems for myself I thought I'd ask for some help.

[Valv]

Remove spark plugs and spray some fogging oil or lubricant inside cylinders. Try to spin it again.

Also be sure when you pull rope, motor is not in gear and prop is not touching anything on floor (it will bind and feel "stuck"). You can also remove pull start mechanism and just spin flywheel by hand, if it binds....not good, even if it "looks" new...it is not.

[federline]

When was the last time it was run? Was it winterized in the past year? The lower unit may be seizing up, if it starts to turn over and then stops at the same place every time. Sometimes they can stick in gear even when it is set to neutral, and if the lower unit is seized up, it will act like a seized piston (which might still be a possibility).

What you can try, just to try the cheap, easy, no risk method first, is to turn the spark plug holes upright, remove the plugs, pour Marvel Mystery Oil into each cylinder, let it soak in in that position, and try to turn it over throughout the following days, leaving a day to soak between tries. If, after a 3-5 days, it still won't budge past the same point each time, I'd guess you have a teardown/rebuild of lower unit on your hands.

Mystery Oil (or liberal use of WD-40) can loosen up even rust-seized pistons in a week, and if the cyliders aren't scored badly, a seized engine should run OK again.

If it does start moving, make sure you discard any old gas and clean/rebuild the carb. And if it starts running, be sure you watch the water circulation - if you got no water being pumped, you'll be doing damage in the first minute of running it.

[bdiddy]

thanks alot boys--we'll see what happens.