1989 Evinrude 9.9 outboard

Hi,

1st time outboard owner here. I found a a 1989 Evinrude 9.9 for my starcraft. I was thrilled with it's condition. It seriously looks immmaculate. No dirt anywhere to be found, looks like it was garage kept and barely a chip of paint anywhere. It starts right up and ran with earmuffs in my driveway- no problem, water pumping fine. I fogged the engine and changed the plugs. I like to change the water pump this spring, and I'm wondering what type of lubrication I should use on the working parts during that process. I also want to lubricate the prop shaft after checking that out- would you recommend something different? My manual suggest triple guard from OMC, I'm not sure they really make much of that anymore? I will also change the lower unit oil, but i figured i should do that at the same time I change the pump.

Hi mmarz4evr , is your outboard a 4 strokes or a 2 ?...for the moving parts any marine grade (i prefer synthetics) grease will do and you don't need to use what they recommended for that year.In the last few years lubricants have really gone hi tech. For the lower gear unit i would stay with the recommended grade but i would use the highest quality possible (...again i preffer synthetics here as well...but that's just me).
So having said all that ; one other item would be to find a repair manual where all specs will be listed, now head to your nearest marine isle at your favorite store and pick up some high grade lubes ,enjoy your fine new motor and Happy New Year !
Dan

Welcome to the site!!

Here is a link to a site that has tons of really good information about your motor regarding maintenance and repairs.

https://www.sschapterpsa.com/ramblings/OMC/OMC%20info.htm


Your motor uses 50:1 fuel to oil ratio. The oil must be premix with the gas. The 2 cycle engine depends on the fuel oil mix as its only source of lubrication. So if you run it on straight gas, you can seriously damage your motor. Always run the motor in a barrel of water or ear muffs. Don't run it even a few seconds out of the water. Your water impeller can be damaged in that short period of time. Please don't ever WOT(wide open throttle) in a barrel of water or on the ear muffs, because you could easily run the motor above the max rpm range and throw a rod and seriously damage your motor.

Happy New Year!!

I had a 1992 Evinrude 15hp. They are great engines. I can give you a tip about those engines. If you are out on the lake, and notice that it slows down when the motor warms up(which is what mine did), simply remove the thermostat. I even tried replacing my thermostat, but it will still slow down after it warmed up. After I took it out, it ran 100 times better. Ran it for 8 years like that, never had an issue.

Hey- changing the impellor on this outboard, and i realized i did not check to see what the rotation is (counter or clockwise) before removing the pump. Anyone have experience with Evinrudes as to which direction is correct when putting the new impellor in?

When pushing your top water pump housing on turn shaft clockwise.

If you use the engine in salt water then you should use something like liquid teflon on the fasteners for the pump housing and the gearcase to exhausing fasteners. Almost guarantee the fasteners will come out the next time you need them to. On the propshaft a good water resistant grease or again the liquid teflon can be used.
If the engine has been used in salt water throughout its service life there may be other items that need to be looked at as well.

chrispy186 said:

I had a 1992 Evinrude 15hp. They are great engines. I can give you a tip about those engines. If you are out on the lake, and notice that it slows down when the motor warms up(which is what mine did), simply remove the thermostat. I even tried replacing my thermostat, but it will still slow down after it warmed up. After I took it out, it ran 100 times better. Ran it for 8 years like that, never had an issue.

Click to expand...

I can guarantee that removing the thermostat did not solve the original issue on your engine. The only time the thermostat comes into play on that engine is at idle. When it fails it is designed to fail in the open position as well. You put the proverbial "bandaid" on your engine.....but whatever works!

Pappy said:

If you use the engine in salt water then you should use something like liquid teflon on the fasteners for the pump housing and the gearcase to exhausing fasteners. Almost guarantee the fasteners will come out the next time you need them to. On the propshaft a good water resistant grease or again the liquid teflon can be used.
If the engine has been used in salt water throughout its service life there may be other items that need to be looked at as well.

chrispy186 said:

I had a 1992 Evinrude 15hp. They are great engines. I can give you a tip about those engines. If you are out on the lake, and notice that it slows down when the motor warms up(which is what mine did), simply remove the thermostat. I even tried replacing my thermostat, but it will still slow down after it warmed up. After I took it out, it ran 100 times better. Ran it for 8 years like that, never had an issue.

Click to expand...

I can guarantee that removing the thermostat did not solve the original issue on your engine. The only time the thermostat comes into play on that engine is at idle. When it fails it is designed to fail in the open position as well. You put the proverbial "bandaid" on your engine.....but whatever works!

Click to expand...

I was going to use triple guard grease as suggested by the manufacturer. I couldn't tell you if it was ever used in saltwater, but based on the condition of this outboard I doubt it. It looks like it was barely used at all. not dirt, rust or anything close to it. I will have it in salt, but it probably wont be often. Maybe 6-8 trips this year and when it's not used it will be in my garage. I have earmuffs so I can flush the engine when I've been in salt with it. If you have any other maintenance suggestions I'm all ears. I'd like to keep her looking and running as good as possible.

You may want to get a corrosion inhibitor to spray in some select locations under the cowl. Especially stuff down low like the powerhead bolts, etc. Water will get in there. I've got an old engine that we've used in salt on and off for years, and several places are rusted. Wished I'd have gone crazy with the spray years ago. Lower powerhead bolts, cowl bolts, and the lower ignition coils are areas that I recall. There's also some large rusty bolts on the underside of the lower cowl that I wouldn't dare put a wrench on. I hope I never have a reason to. It's good to spray on electrical terminals (after they are connected). I wouldn't put it on moving parts like throttle/shift mechanisms because it's a little sticky, but you'll have grease on those parts. I went at my '03 with it for protection, but they did a lot better job sealing the newer ones up from corrosion. Lots more paint on bolt heads, coated coils, and stainless components.

Pappy said:

If you use the engine in salt water then you should use something like liquid teflon on the fasteners for the pump housing and the gearcase to exhausing fasteners. Almost guarantee the fasteners will come out the next time you need them to. On the propshaft a good water resistant grease or again the liquid teflon can be used.
If the engine has been used in salt water throughout its service life there may be other items that need to be looked at as well.

chrispy186 said:

I had a 1992 Evinrude 15hp. They are great engines. I can give you a tip about those engines. If you are out on the lake, and notice that it slows down when the motor warms up(which is what mine did), simply remove the thermostat. I even tried replacing my thermostat, but it will still slow down after it warmed up. After I took it out, it ran 100 times better. Ran it for 8 years like that, never had an issue.

Click to expand...

I can guarantee that removing the thermostat did not solve the original issue on your engine. The only time the thermostat comes into play on that engine is at idle. When it fails it is designed to fail in the open position as well. You put the proverbial "bandaid" on your engine.....but whatever works!

Click to expand...

Well, if you can explain why on a saturday the engine would heat up and bog down, and on sunday when I removed the thermostat, the engine felt like it had 5 more hp and never bogged down after that, then I will rule out removing the thermostat. Until then, my diagnosis still stands! :mrgreen:

Chrispy186,

You know Pappy is certified Evinrude mechanic with years of experiences. I think removing the thermostat was as Pappy stated putting a bandaid on the situation. The thermostat is very important in the running of the 2 cycle outboard, helps prevent carbon buildup around the rings and pistons and the exhaust ports.

Kind of like telling a cardiologist you don't have heart problems and that you only have chest pain when you walk or do something other than just lay down on the couch.

Not trying to be rude, but it is awfully nice of Pappy to spare his time and give good solid experienced advice for free 8) .

Take care

I had an 89 8hp evinrude. Best motor i ever owned. Ran it 10 years every weekend on the factory spark plug and started up no problem. I finaly decided 10 years was alot to ask from a plug and changed it but it still worked. The only advise i can give is use the factoy recomended lub for the gear case. I know lubes have come along way in the past few years but i stoped in at the dealer to get gear oil for it and the mercury dealer told me the "New" synthetic oil is way better for the gears now so i put it in and replaced the whole gear case 3 months later. Went with the recomended oil and no prob after that. I cant really prove it was the oil that causd the damage but if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck???? thats my 2 cents any way

cajuncook1 said:

Chrispy186,

You know Pappy is certified Evinrude mechanic with years of experiences. I think removing the thermostat was as Pappy stated putting a bandaid on the situation. The thermostat is very important in the running of the 2 cycle outboard, helps prevent carbon buildup around the rings and pistons and the exhaust ports.

Kind of like telling a cardiologist you don't have heart problems and that you only have chest pain when you walk or do something other than just lay down on the couch.

Not trying to be rude, but it is awfully nice of Pappy to spare his time and give good solid experienced advice for free 8) .

Take care

Click to expand...

I am by no means a mechanic but have worked on many outboards over the years and i would have to agree with pappy here i dont think removing the thermostat is a good fix. It my run better but the thermostat was instaled for a reason. Have you run the motor in COLD water yet with it removed. Willing to bet it wont run worht a **** in extreme cold.

Pappy said:

If you use the engine in salt water then you should use something like liquid teflon on the fasteners for the pump housing and the gearcase to exhausing fasteners. Almost guarantee the fasteners will come out the next time you need them to. On the propshaft a good water resistant grease or again the liquid teflon can be used.
If the engine has been used in salt water throughout its service life there may be other items that need to be looked at as well.

chrispy186 said:

I had a 1992 Evinrude 15hp. They are great engines. I can give you a tip about those engines. If you are out on the lake, and notice that it slows down when the motor warms up(which is what mine did), simply remove the thermostat. I even tried replacing my thermostat, but it will still slow down after it warmed up. After I took it out, it ran 100 times better. Ran it for 8 years like that, never had an issue.

Click to expand...

I can guarantee that removing the thermostat did not solve the original issue on your engine. The only time the thermostat comes into play on that engine is at idle. When it fails it is designed to fail in the open position as well. You put the proverbial "bandaid" on your engine.....but whatever works!

Click to expand...

Hey Pappy- I heard you know a thing or 2 about these outboards and was hoping you can give me some advice. I just started the outboard for the first time since fall. It starts, but i have to kick it in gear and give it gas to keep it going, in idle or low throttle in gear it stalls out. At half throttle I start hearing a putting sound coming out of the prop/exhaust area. Kind of like an engine knock. I'm wondering why it wont idle?

Could the wrong spark plugs cause this? or could it be a carb issue? Or could it be my gas? I don't know how old the gas is, i put added stabil to it before winter and had the tank outside for most of the winter. Where would you start if your were troubleshooting, sounds like the plugs and the gas would be the easiest to troubleshoot.

mmarz4evr said:

Hey Pappy- I heard you know a thing or 2 about these outboards and was hoping you can give me some advice. I just started the outboard for the first time since fall. It starts, but i have to kick it in gear and give it gas to keep it going, in idle or low throttle in gear it stalls out. At half throttle I start hearing a putting sound coming out of the prop/exhaust area. Kind of like an engine knock. I'm wondering why it wont idle?

Could the wrong spark plugs cause this? or could it be a carb issue? Or could it be my gas? I don't know how old the gas is, i put added stabil to it before winter and had the tank outside for most of the winter. Where would you start if your were troubleshooting, sounds like the plugs and the gas would be the easiest to troubleshoot.

Click to expand...

to me, it sounds like you may have a jet clogged in the carb or something, sounds like a fuel issue.. if you have never cleaned or rebuilt the carb, u might try this, but maybe pappy will chime in on this as well lol

Well staring with the Spark plugs, I have the wrong ones. I ordered the plugs that were in there when I bought the outboard NGK BR9HS. I found a chart saying I should use Champion QL77JC4 or QL82C. I'm going to start there and see if it improves in idle. I will consider a de-carb after that and trying new fuel. Hoping it doesnt have to go any further. I've never taken apart or cleaned a carb before.

I hope that solves your issue, but that carb will probably need cleaned as well... most carb kits come with diagrams and instructions on what to do and how to do it. The tricky part is the final adjustment on the water...