info on buick 225 and omc sterndrive

[anglosax]

Hi All Knowing Gurus
I am thinking of buying a 1966 crestflite with a buick6 and omc outdrive leg
[ just shoot me now...]
Reading the posts it seems that spareparts are rare or $$$$
Is tihis engine raw water cooled ?
Are manifolds available ? what is NOT available
The ball gears on the drive seem to need frequent replacement - are these available and anyone know where I can see a exploded diagram of the leg online
Should I just forget the whole idea?????:redface:
Thanks

 

[superbenk]

Re: info on buick 225 and omc sterndrive

You can find exploded diagrams at either Evinrude/Johnson's site or BRP's site.

Some parts are readily available, though yours is pretty old. Not sure how much is available for the electric shift versions. Most of the easy to find stuff is general maintenance items like seal kits, etc. Finding manifolds is going to be considerably more difficult and expensive. You'll probably be looking at used stuff from eBay or similar.

Ball gears are readily available and will run around $150 to replace (more if you have to do seals, bearings, shims, etc). I've heard people getting 20+ years out of ball gears. As long as you never run the drive while tilted, they should last for a very long time. Mine are 3 years old since I replaced them and they look brand new still.

The tilt mechanism can be a royal pain and the impeller is somewhat of a job to do (you have to dissasemble the outdrive), but it's all doable if you're mechanical. Nothing inherently wrong or undesirable about the drive except it is 25 years obsolete. Parts are getting more rare as it gets older.

Finally, check the transom seal (big boot around drive) for cracks. Check the wood in the transom around the hole and make sure it's not rotten. Same with the stringers around the motor mounts. Good luck!

 

[rodbolt]

Re: info on buick 225 and omc sterndrive

run away,run away run away.
its one thing if you already own it,quite another if you buy someone elses headache.
friend had one in the 80's and manifolds were obsolete then.
some of the steering parts are obsolete and most of the shift mechanism is obsolete.
to many decent deals on later mercruisers that have more avalible parts.

 

[zbnutcase]

Re: info on buick 225 and omc sterndrive

Forget the whole idea!!!!!!!! And I hate it when people call it a Buick when in fact it was owned and made by Kaiser Jeep Corp. at the time OMC used them...

 

[Silvertip]

Re: info on buick 225 and omc sterndrive

Kaiser-Jeep????? Very incorrect. Kaiser wasn't even around in 1966. Buick indeed designed and built that engine in 1961. Yes -- the tooling was sold to AMC but that engine remained built by the Buick division and in fact, the variants (198, 225, 231, 251) were around for decades beyond that time. The 231 survived the longest and was used in the Buick Park Avenues and in the early model Lucernes well into the 2000 model years.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: info on buick 225 and omc sterndrive

Should I just forget the whole idea?????:redface:

Yes, yes you should.

 

[Fishermark]

Re: info on buick 225 and omc sterndrive

[ just shoot me now...]

BANG!



In your next life find an inexpensive boat with a Mercruiser drive and you will be able to find both parts AND mechanics willing and able to work on it.

 

[anglosax]

Re: info on buick 225 and omc sterndrive

thanks for the candid views -
4 against and one cautiously for....
thats it then - I gotta have it ......
BANG !!!

 

[zbnutcase]

Re: info on buick 225 and omc sterndrive

Kaiser-Jeep????? Very incorrect. Kaiser wasn't even around in 1966. Buick indeed designed and built that engine in 1961. Yes -- the tooling was sold to AMC but that engine remained built by the Buick division and in fact, the variants (198, 225, 231, 251) were around for decades beyond that time. The 231 survived the longest and was used in the Buick Park Avenues and in the early model Lucernes well into the 2000 model years.

Kinda hard to build an engine if you sell the tooling, and AMC didn't acquire Jeep until 71...and my '72 Wagoneer still said Kaiser Jeep Corp on the ID plate...

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: info on buick 225 and omc sterndrive

The Kaiser Jeep name started in '63, and was around all the way up untill bought by All Makes of Cars in '70.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiser-Jeep

 

[anglosax]

Re: info on buick 225 and omc sterndrive

Hey Guys
When youve finished debating who built the damn thing - can you tell me if its closed coolant engine or complete raw water thru the block - 1966 remember......

 

[anglosax]

Re: info on buick 225 and omc sterndrive

and from my research on this subject- cliff notes version
1958 Buick designed V8 had 2 cylinders lopped off to make V6 for Skylark in 61.
Big disaster caused by odd firing crank and other problems saw them offload to Kaiser Jeep around 1968. 1974 fuel crisis saw buick buy it back and re- engineer crankshaft and a bunch of other goodies to become the 3.8 EFI that saw service up to the 1990s - so its still a BuiCK engine in my book- and my first yank car was a Buick century wagon with that engine

 

[superbenk]

Re: info on buick 225 and omc sterndrive

Hey Guys
When youve finished debating who built the damn thing - can you tell me if its closed coolant engine or complete raw water thru the block - 1966 remember......

Pretty sure that'll be raw water through the block.

You won't find much love for the OMC and especially the Stringer around here. There's tons of threads going over the issue.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: info on buick 225 and omc sterndrive

could be either, the standard version was raw water cooled but fresh water cooling was a dealer add on option.
kinda like does my 66 chevy have A/C or power steering.
and yes the 225 OMC v6 was and will always be a buick engine.
jeep and later AMC bought engines,transmissions and axl assembly's, as well as most other items, from other major vendors.
kinda like a rambler.

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: info on buick 225 and omc sterndrive

The ball gears on the drive seem to need frequent replacement - are these available and anyone know where I can see a exploded diagram of the leg online

the ball gear sets are available...for now...next week, who knows
For about $928.05 + $150 worth of gaskets, seals and shims, and 3 or 4 hours labour . That $150 thing above is referring to ball gears on late 70's and 1980's boats. - look the same, don't cost the same....don't interchange
Here's your main parts:
0382258 DRIVESHAFT & BALL GEAR 1 $598.92
0313157 BALL GEAR,Shaft 1 $329.13

you can see a breakdown at shop.evinrude.com, but it only goes back to 1968 though
A 1966 will have many different parts from the 68, especially in the lower unit. No one has a good record of what.

To keep it running, would require almost regular searching of the internet for bits and pieces, paying stupid prices for corroded junk on what's left of eBay.

Buying that boat would be a poor idea.

Even propellers need to be custom made. pre-67 used a tapered propshaft bushing.

 

[Bluestream]

Re: info on buick 225 and omc sterndrive

It's pretty much like Howard said. Although if new parts were available it would be insane to pay those prices for an old boat. Unless you have a legitimate desire to own a piece of history, pass on it. If you are set in your mind, then look to find another boat with the same drive, so you have a source of free and available parts.

On the Buick odd-fire V6, the GM sold the rights and tooling to Jeep in 1967. Jeep built the engine, so after that was it a Buick engine or a Jeep engine? Your call.. Gm later bought back the tooling and re started production.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_V6_engine