Re: what is it, and is it worth keeping?
That motor isn't worth keeping. Send it to me instead
<br /><br />Since you stated that you don't have much experience working on outboards, I strongly recommend wasting..er, "investing" a few hours reading through old postings on this BBS. You will learn a lot! <br /><br />I've done several revivals of motors that sat up for a long time so I'll give a few pointers:<br /><br />1) As mentioned earlier, the old gas must go and everything that it touched must be thoroughly cleaned. Replace the gas line. Wouldn't be a bad idea to remove the gas tank completely and have your local motor machine shop dunk it in their hot tank. This will probably remove the paint so have some ready. As long as you are making the trip, take the carburetor to the machine shop too. They have a bucket of VERY caustic stuff to dunk it in that will make it look brand new too. Make sure you don't let any plastic or rubber parts go through the dunk tank because they won't come back out! The carburetor needs to be dismantled before being dunked, but let the machine shop do it. Less chance to loose a tiny part that way. If you choose to clean the carburetor yourself, be very careful to keep everything laid out on a clean white paper towel in the exact order that it comes out. Don't spare to Gumout! Use it liberally on everything and make sure you spray it directly through the jets in both directions. Wear eye protection while doing this! <br /><br />2) Remove the spark plug and spray penetrating/cleaning oil (WD-40, Liquid Wrench, Deep Creep, etc) all around. I used WD-40 before, but now that I've discovered Deep Creep it's all I use. It's available at most marine service counters and costs about $8. You can't use too much. There is a good chance that some rust has formed on the rings and the penetrating oil will soften it up and reduce the chances of breaking one. Turn the motor over by hand a few times and then spray some more. <br /><br />3) The water pump was designed to be replaced periodically. Yours is WAY overdue. Basic mechanical skill is all that's required because you just start unbolting stuff until you get to it. Assemble it all in the reverse order. A manual will give better instructions, but it really is a simple job.<br /><br />4) Use WD-40 as a cleaning solvent along with paper towels/Q-tips/shop rags to clean everything that moves. Remove all of the old gummed up grease. Lubricate everything with a fresh coating of grease. DO NOT rely on the WD-40 to lubricate anything. It evaporates in a few weeks. I prefer to use marine grade wheel bearing grease on sliders and pivot points. It stays in place well and tolerates water. Some people prefer white lithium grease in a spray can, but I've never used it so I can't really say how well it would work.<br /><br />5) Put new spark plugs in no matter how good the old ones look. If the plug wires don't look so good replace them too. Chances are, you don't need new wires though.<br /><br />6) Have fun! It's going to be a few days before you are ready to take the motor on a lake, but the preparation you do now will pay off with a reliable, good running motor for years to come.
