diddlee

 A busy work time on the farm. We picked up David's car in Decatur and it looks great. Both he and Mawmaw are pleased. When we got back to Cullman, I started with the four wheeler steering tube bushing and continued through the various blades for sharpening. That next morning I got the zero turn blades off and sharpened and we continued to do some mowing at the old house. That evening I finished off the garden with the roto tiller. Before I could do that, I had to replace the drive belt. I got the blue one from Tractor Supply and picked up a replacement battery for the zero turn. It seems those tractor batteries only last 2 years.  Next we did the bush hog work in the pastures. Wednesday morning we did a tour around the farm to see what might be needed next and laid out some fuel for Mawmaw to use easily.

After a long wait, I got out on the water for a test today. After installing all the new parts to assure it would pump water, make spark, and run as it should, I took it out for a run. The compression tester from Harbor Freight must be crap because it said it had a pressure of 47 on each cylinder. The little engine started so easily, I thought it must not be true. After the Seafoam shock treatment, the exhaust dumped a lot of dissolved oily residue that it appears was just the nature of the treatment on the gunk in the exhaust system. I found some evidence online that this was what happened and it was suggested on a Facebook forum for these engines. The little engine spun up to full power and pushed my Jon boat up to 16 mph. I guess it couldn't be low compression. Now my next move is to clean up and paint the cowling and add the fresh decals. I didn't opt for the authentic set for that model year. I just got some that were a generic Evinrude 9.9.