Hello All,
I purchased the subject motor (E25RLCRD) last summer for use on an 81 Mirrocraft 14' I'm also refinishing. The motor ran, idled OK, peed some water and shifted in and out of F-N-R just fine. Compression was right around 110 on both cylinders using pull-start (no E start). Lower unit oil was very milky so I figured a rebuild was in order. I only paid $300 including a newer plastic 6 gallon tank, hose and a homemade wooden stand. Figured if it was truly junk I could part it out and make most of that money back.
Well this spring I started going through it and have so far rebuilt the carb, fuel pump and recoil, cleaned all the housings, replaced all the fuel lines and gave the "inside" a through cleaning. I must have done something right as it started first pull after a couple primes and idled OK. I tuned the idle RPM and mix and let it run for about 10 minutes when I noticed that the tell-tale water was very hot, as in couldn't keep my hand under it. So I shut it down and started tearing into the lower unit. Also read it could be a thermostat issue so I pulled the water cover off for inspection. The old T-stat was filthy along with the gasket/o-ring that seals it. Now onto the issues...
Also, I apologize for the length of this this post. Too much coffee too late in the day!
I purchased the subject motor (E25RLCRD) last summer for use on an 81 Mirrocraft 14' I'm also refinishing. The motor ran, idled OK, peed some water and shifted in and out of F-N-R just fine. Compression was right around 110 on both cylinders using pull-start (no E start). Lower unit oil was very milky so I figured a rebuild was in order. I only paid $300 including a newer plastic 6 gallon tank, hose and a homemade wooden stand. Figured if it was truly junk I could part it out and make most of that money back.
Well this spring I started going through it and have so far rebuilt the carb, fuel pump and recoil, cleaned all the housings, replaced all the fuel lines and gave the "inside" a through cleaning. I must have done something right as it started first pull after a couple primes and idled OK. I tuned the idle RPM and mix and let it run for about 10 minutes when I noticed that the tell-tale water was very hot, as in couldn't keep my hand under it. So I shut it down and started tearing into the lower unit. Also read it could be a thermostat issue so I pulled the water cover off for inspection. The old T-stat was filthy along with the gasket/o-ring that seals it. Now onto the issues...
- In removing the water cover I managed to snap the heads off 4 of the bolts (1/4-20 I'm guessing) right between the head and start of threads. Seems to be a weak spot. With the cover removed there's ~3/16-1/4" of bolt sticking out though. I've been hitting them with PB blaster and some heat (a propane torch on ultra low) but am wondering what's the best way to actually remove them. Vice grips? Grind a slot and use a flat head? I've read welding a nut on works great as well but I don't have access to that right now.
- Assuming I can't get them out should I just try drilling them out and re-tapping? Pulling the head off would make this much easier as I can use the machine shop at work. Would left handed drill bits make the most sense since at some point it may just start to back the bolts out?
- Should I pull the head off anyway to check the cooling channels and the rubber diverters? These are bigger shoulder bolts, maybe 3/8???, and hopefully wouldn't snap off as easy.
- I disassembled the lower unit to find seals that were nearly gone and a propshaft that was pitted. Fortunately the driveshaft is in good condition at the sealing location.
- Anyone every use a speedy sleeve to repair a pitted section of shaft? Most I see are 0.010"/0.25mm thickness so the sealing would be seeing double this for extra interference. My other thoughts are to turn this surface down and machine a stainless sleeve to press fit over or to turn it down to the next smaller seal ID, likely a 1/32 or 1/16" smaller, and skip the factory replacement seals. Finding slightly smaller seals in stainless could be tricky, likely impossible.
- This model seems to be somewhat unique in that I see a lot of parts for 70s - 82 and 85-90, but not a lot for the 83 and 84 models. I was hoping to buy a "lower unit seal kit" but BRP doesn't actually offer such an item in the parts breakdown. The other years mentioned above do though. Seems Sierra, GLM, etc. do offer item's that mention the year 84 but it depends on what site offers it. Can anyone confirm the 85 lower unit seals will fit an 84 lower unit with the non-thru hub exhaust?
Also, I apologize for the length of this this post. Too much coffee too late in the day!