89 Stoker 300 evinrude big scare

[williamj]

Big scare over the weekend. After two days of riding and skiing I changed props to the 29 SRX and went for a ride after adjusting the trim tabs. Picked up 2 MPH with a 200lb passenger opposed to being solo before adjusting the tabs. We were headed back to the trailer and the buzzer raised hell for about a second. As we were idling through the creek back to the house I noticed what I thought was a skip and something rattling, OH ****!!!!! Ran a compression check this evening with the results below. Think it's time to get rid of the VRO pumps, it's convenient but not worth the 1K to replace them plus there is the peace of mind knowing it's getting oil!!!

Port - Stbd
136 - 139
133 - 138
135 - 133
134 - 137

Not bad for 660 hours and almost 25 years... Just a testament to Al's work building them and maintaining them!! I wish I were closer than 2500 miles so he could continue to maintain this boat... If it ever has to be rebuilt he'll get the power head via motor freight I can assure you!

[Capt.Insane-o]

Monty is closer, not dissing Al by any means..

[baja200merk]

Monty is closer, not dissing Al by any means..

Its still under warranty though

Check gear oil...

[williamj]

Check gear oil..... how often? I usually check it for water every few trips. Speaking of gear oil, what are you running?

[baja200merk]

The skip and rattle could have come from the gearcase.

I change the water in my case every couple months Sporty gets merc crap, omc gets what ever is around.

[williamj]

Thanks for the info. Rookie status still in full effect. When I was running the small stuff (3 cyl yammie's) I never worried about the gear oil. Changed it every 3-4 years whether it needed it or not.

I'll change it before I go out this weekend and see what I get.

[Markus]

Stecky says change gear oil every few hours.