1959 evinrude starflite restoration project

[derek4325]

So i finally got my engine freed up after being seized for who knows how many years! Which was a pretty big breath of confidence for me! You may have seen in my previous posts about issues i have had with this engine before, but i will be using this forum from now on showing the progress of my project and i hope you all follow me through this journey! And as soon as i can i will show pictures through this process. So now that i have it freed up i will start to rebuild everything from the lower unit to the carb to the ignition... and so on, but now i am thinking that now that its freed, i am sure that there is a large amount of rust and sludge in the crank case, so my question right now is what do all of you do once you get one of these freed up? In other words what do i do to effectively flush this case out ( preferably without splitting the case) i have heard things from oil to break cleaner to kerosene but i don't know which route to take also i dont really know the process in detail as what to do to flush this out, thanks everyone and i will keep you all posted on the progress on this project with pictures, there is a lot of work to be done but i am looking forward to it!

 

[racerone]

You need to remove bypass covers and inspect.--------If precision needle bearings on the rods are rusted it could be terminal.----------The motor may run , but not for long.

 

[derek4325]

You need to remove bypass covers and inspect.--------If precision needle bearings on the rods are rusted it could be terminal.----------The motor may run , but not for long.

I am pretty new to this engine in particular, what do the bypass covers look like? Thanks for the input.

 

[F_R]

There are four bypass covers, one on the outboard side of each cylinder. Removing them allows you to peer in at the side of the pistons and back toward the crankcase. You can also poke at the piston rings to see if they are stuck in the grooves.

You seem to have suggested there is rust in the crankcase (??). If that is true, you should determine the extent of it before spending time and money on it. As racer said, if the bearings are rusted or pitted, too bad, so sad.

 

[derek4325]

There are four bypass covers, one on the outboard side of each cylinder. Removing them allows you to peer in at the side of the pistons and back toward the crankcase. You can also poke at the piston rings to see if they are stuck in the grooves.

You seem to have suggested there is rust in the crankcase (??). If that is true, you should determine the extent of it before spending time and money on it. As racer said, if the bearings are rusted or pitted, too bad, so sad.

If i have to split the case i will and replace the parts as necessary, but if i take the covers off and find that the bearings are good, is there enough room for me to effectively flush the foreign objects out of the crank, and if the bearings are just rusted, is it possible to free them up and operate them, or do i need to replace them all together? I rotate the flywheel 360 degrees and everything seems real smooth just if there is any sludge in the case from that frozen piston i freed up i would like to be able to get that out so it doesnt cause any damage, the cylinder walls look real clean with minimal rust and absolutely no scratches, it was just the one piston that was frozen

 

[F_R]

Well you see, you have to make a judgement call based on what you can see. If you see rust in the crankcase, it is pretty much a given that there might be bearing damage. I'd pay special attention to the crankcase section that is related to that one frozen piston. Yes, to be sure, people have cleaned up and used pitted bearings. With luck, they probably will run awhile too. But sooner or later, they will fail. So, which is it to be--sooner or later?

 

[derek4325]

I suppose i will just have to see what i am dealing with, does anyone have any experience with tearing thses motors down like that? It certainly does not seem like an easy job

 

[racerone]

Do you know about the " thirstyness / fuel appetite " of this motor ?-----Is there a reason for picking this motor to restore ?

 

[derek4325]

Do you know about the " thirstyness / fuel appetite " of this motor ?-----Is there a reason for picking this motor to restore ?

Yeah i am aware of how thirsty these engines are (i wouldhave to assume it will burn twice as much gas as my 59 lark does. But the reason i am restoring this engine is for hobby purposes, i love these old engines and for some reason i have always wanted one of these in particular, this will be going on a 67 starcraft jet. Fuel consumption doesn't bother me too much, its not like i have to rely on it to get me to work and back, i just like the looks and the history behind it

 

[F_R]

I suppose i will just have to see what i am dealing with, does anyone have any experience with tearing thses motors down like that? It certainly does not seem like an easy job

I have tons of experience on the V4s---as with anything else of the era. But the question is what experience do you have? Have you done powerhead rebuilds on twins such as your Lark? The V4 really isn't that much different, just more of it. The basics apply such as keeping the rod bearings and caps together, etc, etc. Make sure you have the tools such as an inch-pound torque wrench to assemble it, and of course a foot-pound one for the flywheel nut. If you lack basic experience, get yourself a service manual and study it.

 

[derek4325]

I have tons of experience on the V4s---as with anything else of the era. But the question is what experience do you have? Have you done powerhead rebuilds on twins such as your Lark? The V4 really isn't that much different, just more of it. The basics apply such as keeping the rod bearings and caps together, etc, etc. Make sure you have the tools such as an inch-pound torque wrench to assemble it, and of course a foot-pound one for the flywheel nut. If you lack basic experience, get yourself a service manual and study it.

Well i have a decent amount of experience with old outboards, but i have never split the case on one before, keep in mind i am in my early 20s and i have only been doing this sort of thing for a couple years, but i am definitely going to pick up a service manual and give it a shot, i have to start somewhere right?

 

[oldboat1]

I'll add a less technical point of view. I'm a hobbyist, and I don't do rebuilds. I've also run many period motors, and still have too many. I run all of them -- enjoy restoration short of rebuilding, and continue to be fine with that.

You said in an earlier thread that you had "rebuilt a few of the old OMC engines", but I think you were speaking loosely. I get a sense that you could also be speaking loosely when you talk about the crankcase being full of rust and sludge. The guys you are hearing from, though, are talking a different language.

I think you might try cleaning up the crankcase a little with some 2-cyle or ATF -- maybe fogging oil (no solvents). Fogging oil might be the best choice, as it comes in an aerosol with a wand. Spray it fairly generously into the plug holes. Let it set overnight. With plugs out, turn the the flywheel clockwise a bit by hand, then spray in a little more oil and repeat the process. (All pretty much what you would do trying to free up a stuck engine -- probably something you did earlier.)

You may in fact need to rebuild your Fat 50 to get a runner, but maybe not -- seems to me you might take a cautious approach first, and then decide. (JMO)

 

[Chris1956]

That motor has removeable reed boxes. You will be able to see some of the main and rod bearings, without splitting the crankcase.

​If it were me, I would pop off the transfer covers and see where the rust is. I would expect to see the rings had rusted to the cylinders. If you do not see rust there, pop off the carb, intake manifold and reed boxes and see what is there. If you find rust in the crankcase, I would consider another motor.

The Fat-Fifty is an acquired taste. They are very powerful at low RPM, just about bulletproof, and very reliable. They can dump 1/3 of their fuel overboard, making them very inefficient. I also never could get one to push my boat faster than 27MPH, no matter how small the boat. Also the shift linkage wears, making the shifting of the gears sloppy. This causes the shift dog to wear out. Prop selection is poor.

 

[derek4325]

Well everyone as i said before, this is just a hobby of mine, and its something i can take my time on because its not like i need a motor running right now for spring because i have my lark to get me by as of right now. I just find this motor to be very cool, i love how big it is and the history behind it. I think its obvious that i am not trying to break any speed records or even go for the best fuel efficiency, its just something to toy around with. And oldboat1 is correct in a sense that i was speaking loosely about the old OMCs that i have "rebuilt." What i have done with a lot of them is pull flywheels, put in new ignition systems, timing, lower unit rebuilds, carb rebuilds, but as i said before i have never split the case on one before so that being said, i am by no means a stranger to these, but i am definitely not an expert..... which is why i am on this fourm.
P.S. allow me to explain exactly why i think there is rust/ sludge in the crank case. When i got my trouble piston to free up, i watched a clump of what looked like some sort of sludge fall down some port when the piston went all the way down. So that is why i am worried, i havent gotten a chance to pull off any covers yet on account of the temperature outside, i will be looking at it next week when it is warmer and i also have a service manual that i ordered from iboats which should be here soon, so if i absolutely need to split the case i will, just as you can imagine i am a little nervous about it. But any guidance along the way would be helpful. Thanks again everyone

 

[F_R]

What Chris said. Pull the bypass covers and intake manifold/reeds and see what you can see. Then make your decision accordingly. Remember the old advice--don't fix it if it isn't broken.

 

[oldboat1]

Yup. Maybe lube the bolts a little in advance. Believe the gasket for each cover would be PN 0305169, pretty readily available too (can get them here at iBoats). Hope you post back with findings.

 

[derek4325]

What Chris said. Pull the bypass covers and intake manifold/reeds and see what you can see. Then make your decision accordingly. Remember the old advice--don't fix it if it isn't broken.

So i finally got a chance to get outside and i pulled off the bypass covers and got to look at the rod bearings and the piston rings, thr bearings look great from what i can tell for the most part, i saw what i thought was a little pitting on one bearing, but i think it was just some discoloration (possibly from old gas) i sprayed some Kroil on it and it looks much better. The piston rings also look great... for the most part. All 3 rings on my problem piston dont seem to have any movement.... any suggestions? By the way, sorry everyone for no pictures yet, i tried today but i am having issues posting them.

 

[F_R]

If no movement of the rings when you poke at them, they are stuck in the piston grooves. There are all sorts of potions "guaranteed" to free them up, and lots of people swear by them. Myself, I am a non-believer in magic potions in many/most cases. If you are lucky enough to free them up, buy me a lottery ticket too. I predict you will be tearing it down.

 

[derek4325]

If no movement of the rings when you poke at them, they are stuck in the piston grooves. There are all sorts of potions "guaranteed" to free them up, and lots of people swear by them. Myself, I am a non-believer in magic potions in many/most cases. If you are lucky enough to free them up, buy me a lottery ticket too. I predict you will be tearing it down.

I realize the chances are slim, if i happen to do a compression test and find by some miracle that that cylinder happens to have the compression within operating range.... would it be worth it to run the engine and hope that the running of the engine will break the rings free? Far fetched thinking i understand, but like you said, if its not broke dont fix it. Im just trying to determine if its borken. I have been trying oil and a propane torch to try to break the rings free, so far no luck, but at the same time i have only tried for a day. Like i said before, I'm not against splitting the case, but I'm so close to not doing that, any kind of home remedy idea to try to break the rings free would be.... well it would be awesome haha

 

[oldboat1]

well, might try liberal use of ATF to soak -- and Marvel Mystery oil. ATF and acetone is good for soaking bolts, but think acetone would not be a good idea in the cylinder. Rock the flywheel a little by hand after soaking. Never know....