Reeds?

WinnerCougar74

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 12, 2020
Messages
275
Is the only way to check reeds is by pulling them out and looking at them or are there tell tale things that indicate they are bad or broken? I have a 1974 135hp Chrysler.
 

jerryjerry05

Supreme Mariner
Joined
May 7, 2008
Messages
18,109
Bad reeds: you can have blowby coming from the front of the carb or carbs.
Snake camera. I bought a small flexible "snake" cam for my Android phone,,11$ on Ebay.
The "snake" part is skinny enough to get by the flaps in the carbs so you can see the reeds.
 

racerone

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Messages
38,728
What is your motor doing / not doing that leads you to ask this question?
 

racerone

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Messages
38,728
Take it apart.----Inspect reed petals.----I believe new reeds are available.
 

WinnerCougar74

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 12, 2020
Messages
275
Found reed pedals on ebay. Didn't realize I needed 4 of the 4 pedals and 4 of the single pedals. Already had 2 of each so got 2 more. One thing I learned on these motors is make sure you have the parts before you tear something apart. Any little thing can boat anchor these outboards. I ran around fishing with the cowling off, always a good look, and saw fuel inside the cowling soo I might be getting some blow back on the reeds or maybe a problem with the float needle. I'll post my results.
 

WinnerCougar74

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 12, 2020
Messages
275
Biggest part of working on these old motors is is cleaning off the old gasket material. One set of reed blocks took me about 3 hours to do primarily because of the 50 year old gasket material. Does anyone have any good tips for removing old gasket material?
 

racerone

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Messages
38,728
Razor blade type scraper.-----Exacto knife.----Carbide scraper.-----Homemade gasket scraper ( power hack saw blade ) is what I use.----Can't imagine it would take more than 10 minutes for me.
 

WinnerCougar74

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 12, 2020
Messages
275
Maybe I am trying to do too good of a job on it. I like doing things once. Too bad there isn't something that dissolves gaskets
 

Nordin

Commander
Joined
Jun 12, 2010
Messages
2,613
I use razor blades, pocket knifes or putty knifes when removing old gaskets at smaller parts.
At lager parts/surfaces such as bottom of power head to midleg I use a tool made for removing gasket when restoring car engines.
Most important is that the surface is smooth and clean.
Some sign of the old gasket does not matter.
 
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