We were so happy to find such a great deal on a sailboat which came with a motor.
The story was the motor was stored in a garage with the boat since around 1993 and the engine is a 1988. So, by my math it would have only had light use for about 5 years!.
The guy we bought the boat / motor started it up on the second-third pull and we let it run for about 5 minutes!
I thought for sure we were solid here and I left this project for last! -sigh
The night prior to our first planned boat outing Becky suggested we start the engine, let it run for awhile, make sure it runs good, etc. Sounds good, I run to the gas station, fresh gas in hand we try to start the engine.
Pull, Pull, Pull, frustration, yelling, anger, sweat, blisters, tendonitis. No sailing tomorrow!
Becky suggested I share that I am known for my frustration which leads to yelling, I disagree but it does run in the family....
We gave up for the night. I always seem to wait too long before I decide to walk away and sleep on it.
The next morning (Sunday) we discussed options.
1, Purchase a new Outboard motor -$$$$,
2, send the old motor for repair- $$$,
3, or try to repair the motor myself -zero $
I have worked on other small engines (lawn mowers mostly) so I decided to take this on myself.
I started with removing the spark plug and checking for compression. All good so I replaced the plug with a new one and reinstalled it. The fuel line filter was patent which leaves the carburetor.
This proved to be easier than I anticipated. It came off easily and I was able to carefully disassemble all working parts, clean it meticulously and put it back together without any replacement parts. Now with the Carburetor reinstalled on the motor it fired and ran on the second pull!
We will be on the water next weekend and I will start it a few times this week to make sure it runs consistently.
Becky said she felt lucky that she married a guy "who can do things".